The .2 in My Marathon of Kindness

Upon completing my 13th Act of Kindness, I thought about how I was halfway through the names on my list, and then I thought of how 13 always seems to be half in my book. Being a marathon runner the number 13 is kind of synonymous with half-way. From that point on, in my head, I titled my journey as my "Marathon of Kindness." Yesterday I reached the 26 mark, but as any marathoner knows, there is still that .2 to get to the finish line.

26 miles is a lot of miles to run... most would say it's too many. And 26 names is FAR too many - 26 too many, in fact. While this journey has been amazing and I'm so grateful that I made it, I sincerely wish that I never had the need to do so.

26 lives were cut short on December 14th. 20 lives were just beginning - lives that all had such great potential. And another 6 were hitting their strides - enjoying the journey of life, and helping the little ones along the way. These 26 should still be with us. Their loss was so senseless and I pray that I never have another need to do something like this again.

In saying that I'm not saying that I won't continue doing random acts of kindness, because I most definitely will. My daughter was disappointed we reached the end of our list, because she was enjoying doing acts of kindness so much. I gently reminded her that if there were more names on that list, it would have meant more lives lost. It is a VERY good thing we reached the end of the list... it was far too long to begin with. But I promised my daughter that we could keep doing acts of kindness - they just won't be as structured as they have been for the past month. She then decided she is going to spend the next month doing an act of kindness to each person in her class at school. What a cute, thoughtful little girl I have.

In researching all of the victims of the tragedy I found a wonderful organization that many of the parents of the Newtown victims have created - The Sandy Hook Promise  ( www.sandyhookpromise.org and www.facebook.com/SandyHookPromise ). Benjamin Wheeler's parents recently told how they are proud to be a part of the organization - how they are finding purpose in the unspeakable tragedy.

This is taken from the organization's website:

"This is a Promise

To truly honor the lives lost
by turning our tragedy into a moment of transformation.

This is a Promise

To be open to all possibilities.
There is no agenda other than to make
our community and our nation a safer, better place.

This is a Promise

To have the conversations on ALL the issues
Conversations where listening is as important as speaking.
Conversations where even those with the most opposing views
can debate in good will.

This is a Promise

To turn the conversation into actions.
Things must change.
This is the time.

This is a Promise

We make to our precious children.
Because each child, every human life is filled with promise,
and though we continue to be filled with unbearable pain
we choose love, belief, and hope
instead of anger.

This is a Promise

To do everything in our power to be remembered
not as the town filled with grief and victims;
but as the place where
real change began.

Our hearts are broken;
Our spirit is not.

This is our promise."

This is my promise to the Newtown 26: I promise I won't forget your names, your faces, your stories. You will live on in my heart, the hearts of my family, and the hearts of so many others in this nation and throughout the world. You may not be here with us any longer, but I promise I will do my utmost to make sure you did not die in vain.

I pledged my support to the Sandy Hook Promise, and I encourage you all to do the same.

And so, for the final .2 of my journey, today is not an act of kindness, but rather an act of remembrance. I made sure that their memory will live on in our home for years to come. I created an angel ornament I had seen someone make shortly after the tragedy. I took a clear ornament, attached some butterfly/angel wings and a halo. Then I took little slips of paper with each of the victims' names and ages on it and slipped them inside, and said what I have come to associate with each of them as I did so:

Charlotte Bacon: Stubborn animal lover; Daniel Barden: Musical future-fireman; Rachel D'Avino: Perpetual Student/Amazing Aide; Olivia Engel: Jane of all trades; Josephine Gay: Peanut butter Boo; Dawn Hochsprung: Raging bull book fairy; Dylan Hockley: Beautiful butterfly; Madeleine Hsu: Reading runner; Catherine Hubbard: Animal lover; Chase Kowalski: Amazing Athlete; Jesse Lewis: Little soldier/Big Heart; Ana Marquez-Greene: Musical flower; James Mattioli: Hungry caterpillar; Grace McDonnell: Beach bum; Anne Marie Murphy: Arms of love; Emilie Parker: Big sister extraordinaire; Jack Pinto: Sports fanatic; Noah Pozner: Future scientist; Caroline Previdi: Silly Caroline; Jessica Rekos: Cowgirl CEO; Avielle Richman: Mighty girl; Lauren Rousseau: Angel; Mary Sherlach: Understanding soul; Vicki Soto: Super hero goofball; Benjamin Wheeler: Speedster; Allison Wyatt: Young Rembrandt

They will join us every holiday season, and we will remember the stars that blinked out too soon and the angels that ascended to heaven on a cold December day. They will always have Christmas in our home.

http://www.sandyhookpromise.org/
http://www.facebook.com/SandyHookPromise

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 26

Today's Act of Kindness was in honor of Allison Wyatt. Young Allison, or Allie as she was called, was a sweet, somewhat shy little girl. She was smart, creative and was developing a wonderful sense of humor. Her parents said she could be silly one minute and then make an observation that was so funny they would be crying with laughter.

Allie was kind-hearted and anyone who spent any amount of time with her adored her. She had her two grandpas wrapped around her little finger. She loved her teachers and her family. She was a great big sister who helped teach her younger sister how to ride the school bus.

Allison was a helpful and giving little girl. She would happily help her mother with the gardening and she loved to do acts of kindness for her family and friends. She even once shared her snacks on a plane with a complete stranger.

Allie was a little artist. She loved to paint and turned her home into both a studio and a gallery. Her art was plastered all over the walls. She made the world a more beautiful place for far too short of a time.

I've mentioned several times how my amazing friend, Julie inspired me to start my acts of kindness. For today's final act I am taking a page directly out of her book. When she wrote about her final act of kindness it was so perfect that I simply couldn't imagine ending this journey in any other way.

Since Allie was a budding artist, today my husband, my son and I went to the store and picked up two art kits. We then drove over the Clackamas Town Center, a mall on the other side of Portland. This mall definitely wasn't the closest mall to us - we probably passed four other malls on the way there - but I had a reason for picking it.

Only a few days before the tragedy at Sandy Hook a gunman walked into Clackamas Town Center and opened fire on the patrons trying to get their Christmas shopping done. Two people were killed, and a young teenage girl who was on her way home from school (she walked through the mall every day to get home) was hospitalized. It sounds terrible to think of how much worse it could have been - any life lost to such senselessness is one too many... and then came Sandy Hook in its wake.

I felt that since such a terrible thing happened at Clackamas Town Center just last month that it could use a bit of something good happening at it as well. We walked into the mall and immediately found ourselves in the children's indoor playground area; I suppose we picked the right entrance. I looked around for a child who was about 6-8 years old.

My gaze soon fell on a little girl who was sitting on the bench next to her mother. She was probably about 8 years old and looked a bit bored. I'm guessing she was too old for the play toys and was waiting there while her younger sibling played. It looked like she could use a little cheering up. I approached her and her mother. I knelt down in front of them and asked her if she liked art. She smiled shyly and said she did. I held out the watercolor painting kit we had brought and told her I was out doing acts of kindness and I wanted her to have this art kit and I hoped she enjoyed it. She looked at her mom questioning. Her mother nodded her head and I handed her the kit. Then I asked her if she could do something. I handed her the other kit and asked her if she could find another child to give the second kit to. She grinned, turned to her mother and said "Oh! Could I give it to ____?" Her mom nodded and said that would be good. The girl thanked me quietly and the mother graciously thanked me as well.

I walked away in search of my boys.

I love that for this final act of kindness (again, the idea was all Jules's!) I handed the baton off to another family. Gave them the chance to help spread some joy as well, and hopefully that will be just the beginning of their journey.

And it was so fitting that it was in tribute to the young artist, Allie, who loved to do acts of kindness. Thank you, Aliie for making the world a more beautiful and kind place, just by being yourself.

"When one person is thoughtful to another, the thoughtfulness gets carried on and on.
It is like a river of kindness, once blocked by rocks,
That is suddenly opened by a single person's kind thought or act.
The river runs freely again, and continues to flow,
Moving more rocks and reaching the hearts of others.
When one person is thoughtful to another the thoughtfulness gets carried on and on.
The more we get together and help each other,
The more friendship there can be throughout many different places.
The friendship can begin like a small stream in a single neighborhood.
And then expand throughout a river of districts, states, countries, and even continents.
When one person is thoughtful to another, the thoughtfulness gets carried on and on.
Soon, we could have a whole ocean of friendships, and that's how the world was created
And how it should always be."
-Mattie J.T. Stepanek
 (1990-2004)

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 25

Today's Act of Kindness was in honor of Jessica Rekos, age 6. Little Jessica loved orcas. She did "research" on them after watching Free Willy last year, and her dream was to see one in person one day. She was able to fulfill that dream this past fall when her family traveled to SeaWorld. If Jessica loved orcas, she absolutely adored horses. She loved reading about them, drawing them, writing stories about them, and especially riding them. She wanted "real" cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat for Christmas. Her parents promised her a horse of her own when she was 10. She'll never have the chance to get that horse, but a few weeks ago a horse was rescued in Jessica's honor, and named Rekos. I bet that made Jessica smile.

Jessica was the first born, and adored her two little brothers - one of whom is only months old. Her parents called her the "rock" of their family. She was their "little CEO," she carefully thought out and planned everything. Her parents joked that she was smarter than both of them put together. Her mom told a story about when Jessica was just a toddler and was throwing a temper tantrum, her mother threatened to throw Jessica's princess shoes away if she didn't stop. Well, tiny Jessica was too smart to let that happen. When her mom walked down to the basement, Jessica slammed the door behind her and locked it, ensuring the safety of her princess shoes.

Jessica's mother, who is also a teacher, said she always felt incredibly lucky to be Jessica's mom.  Her parents have promised to keep their daughter's memory alive by talking about her every day and living for her. They promised to make sure her little brothers know what an amazing big sister they had. And Jessica, it seems, left a message for them. Just days after her death her mother was going through her belongings and found a journal that she had no idea her daughter was keeping. Inside was a note that read, "I love you so much Mama. Love, Jessica."

It would seem that I should do something horse related for the little equestrian cowgirl - and I did a bit - but when I read she loved orcas that stuck out to me, because an Orca is the mascot of my children's school. I conceived an idea of making a tribute to Jessica that my kids' school could keep and display.


So I decided to try my hand at sculpting with polymer clay. I've never sculpted anything out of that before (wax yes, polymer clay, no) so it was a bit of a learning curve. I sculpted an orca jumping out of the water. I tried thinking of how I could pay tribute to Jessica, but then I realized I should honor all of the victims in this act. I etched all of their names into the black of the orca, and then filled the rest of the area with little designs of what each person loved (a hamburger for James, waves for Grace, a flower for Ana, a puppy for Charlotte, etc.) and then swirly patterns to fill in the rest.

I also bought a couple of books that we could donate to the school that I thought Jessica would love: Black Beauty, and a few Fairy books - the Whale Fairy and the Horse-Riding Fairy. I had to wait for the books to arrive today before I could deliver the goodies to the school. They finally showed up at 3pm, and we put some "In memory of Jessica Rekos" stickers in them and then got down to the school as fast as we could. But we missed the office hours. =(

We ran into my kids' music teacher in the parking lot, and she complimented the orca and told us we could probably take it into the work room if we needed to leave it today. We thanked her and walked into the school. The kids who were there for after-school care were just lining up from recess. They all saw the orca and started oohhing and ahhhing, saying how cool it was, and asking if they could they see it closer, so I let them look at it until their teacher told them it was time to go inside.

My daughter showed me how to get into the work room inside. When we got there there were two of the staff there. One happened to be my son's teacher from last year. She asked if she could help us, and I told her I just needed to leave the orca and the books for the school - that they could do with them what they chose. I explained how we were doing 26 Acts of Kindness for the Sandy Hook victims, and this was number 25, for Jessica, who loved orcas. I showed her how all of the names of the victims was in the sculpture.

Tears filled her eyes as I explained it all. She told me she couldn't read the card on it right then or look at the names too closely or she'd break down. She said she has been affected from the tragedy - as I'm sure all teachers have. She said she would take the orca and the books to her room to keep them safe over the weekend and would deliver them to the office on Monday. She told my daughter what a wonderful thing she thought it was that we were doing... and then she had an idea. She said she thought the whole school should hear about why we did this and that it would be a good idea to have my kids share the orca and explain about their experiences doing acts of kindness on the in-school news broadcast they do every week. My daughter nodded, saying she was all in for that idea.

Maybe this Act of Kindness will reach hundreds of kids. Maybe some of those kids will take the message home with them and begin their own acts of kindness, or tell their parents and maybe they will do an act of kindness for someone...

That's a lot of ripples. But, it was an orca, after all.

Jessica, it seems you've made quite the splash. ;-)

"Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end." -Scott Adams

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 24

Today's Act of Kindness honored a true hero, Victoria Soto, age 27. Vicki Soto was many things to many people. She was a daughter, a big sister, a niece, a best friend... but at Sandy Hook she was simply Miss Soto. She was a beautiful young woman, with long brown hair and bright blue eyes and a wonderful future ahead of her.

Vicki loved the color green, collected flamingos in all shapes and sizes, and adored her lab, Roxy. She still slept with her teddy bear, and loved The Little Mermaid. Her college roommate described how, when a boy she liked came over once, Vicki blasted the song "Kiss the Girl" from her bedroom in the hopes the young man would take the hint and make a move on her friend.

And that's just how Vicki was. She was an irrepressible goofball, who said she never had any intention on growing up. Her youngest sister's last memory of Vicki happened two nights before her death. Vicki was teasing her about not knowing what classes she should take in college and the teasing escalated into  them throwing candy at each other and their mom telling them to stop because the dogs would eat it and get sick.

But despite being a child at heart, Vicki was serious about her work. She had wanted to be a teacher since she was a teenager and she was always very directed in that goal. She was a double major in college and graduated with high honors. Her instructors said she always absorbed everything they said, but then would come up with ways to relay the information to kids of all different levels and aptitudes. The teacher she did her student teaching under said Vicki had raw talent and instinct and that, despite her 30 years of teaching, she learned more from Miss Soto than she ever taught her. The day Vicki got the job teaching first grade at Sandy Hook she called her aunt, who was also a teacher, and was bursting with excitement.

Vicki was always striving to be a better teacher. She stayed late after school creating billboards and lesson plans, or picking up books at book fairs. She was going back to school to get a Master's degree in learning disabilities - not because she wanted to be a special ed teacher, but because she wanted to be better at helping each and every one of her students reach their fullest potential.

After the tragedy I heard a gem of wisdom somewhere... I really don't recall when or where... something that stuck with me, and something that I noted to tell my kids about the whole scenario. It, fittingly, came from Mr. Rogers:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."

On that horrible day it took only one person to ruin so many lives - to show us the very worst of human kind. But, in the wake of those actions, we were also witnesses to the very best of humanity.

Miss Soto became a super hero that day. She hid her kids in a closet, some under a desk and more behind a partition, and then she did the unthinkable. She boldly stood there, all alone, and faced down what she surely knew was her death. There is no doubt she had heard what happened in Miss Rousseau's room next door, and yet she did not hesitate, she did not waver. She bought her kids time, and she ultimately paid with her life. Sadly, she could not save all of her "angels" but her quick thinking and bravery did save the majority of her class - 13 children are alive today because of Miss Soto.

So, in tribute to Miss Soto's selfless act of protector, I decided I wanted to do my Act of Kindness today for some other protectors.

The 26 lives that were cut short certainly weren't the only victims that day. The rest of the students and staff of the school will surely have to face tough times ahead. But I think that morning will always haunt the  police officers and other first responders who answered the call. I can't begin to imagine - nor do I want to - what they went through that day. One officer told little Olivia Engel he loved her as he held her in his arms while she passed away. They fully expected to need ambulance after ambulance to transport the wounded... and then, heartbroken, they realized there was no need.

The Newtown Police Department and other agencies that responded are requesting to the Governor of Connecticut that they should be able to file for treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. Well, they certainly deserve at least that. And they deserve our thanks.

This weekend I will write a letter of thanks and condolences to the Newtown Police... but for today I honored another group of officers.

One lesson I learned today: Police officers are unbelievably hard people to do an act of kindness for! My friend, Julie, also tried to do an act of kindness for the police and found out the hard way they're not allowed to take gift cards (as it is seen as a "payoff"), no matter how well intentioned or random it is.

I knew that going into this, so I called my friend whose husband is a deputy in the sheriff department and picked her brain a bit. Could they accept movie vouchers? Nope, same thing as the gift card. What about food? Could I bring in bagels or cookies or something? Sadly, they likely won't eat it, because the climate of the world today is such that they can't trust someone walking in off the street and doing a good deed. How do they know I'm not the girlfriend of someone they just put in jail and I've come to seek revenge by lacing cookies with something?... Sigh.

I decided I'd just have to be a little covert and sneaky, and mysteriously leave some Starbucks gift cards on some cops' parked cars. So I got some gift cards, put them with an Act of Kindness note and into ziplock baggies (it's Oregon, rain is inevitable) and then I left for a long run. I told my husband, as I ran off, if he got a call from the jail that it was because I'd been busted for doing an act of kindness. He promised he'd bail me out.

I first ran down to the county sheriff offices... and discovered that they park every single one of their squad cars behind a gated area. Darned it! I contemplated just throwing some gift cards over the fence and hoping they would find them, but figured I'd try the local police department before I got that desperate.

So I ran down to the police department. I got stopped at some traffic lights kiddy-corner from the police station and I spotted a squad car parked in the parking lot. Hallelujah! But just as I was crossing the street a policeman came out of the building toward the car. Shoot! So I circled around the little mini mall adjacent to the station while he drove away. I saw another couple of squad cars, and just as I was going to go over to them another policeman walked out of the building. Seriously, it was comical at this point. It really shouldn't be this hard to do something nice for police officers. I circled the block again, and the next time I came around no one was in the parking lot, and several police cars were parked there, so I stealthily put the gift cards under the windshield wipers of the cars, terrified the whole time they were watching me on some kind of surveillance equipment and would come arrest me for tampering with police property. Thankfully, they didn't. I ran away (literally... maybe it's good I ran because then there's no license plate to track!) and was nervous every time a cop car passed me the rest of the run home.

I hope that the officers who get those cards are appreciative and actually use them! I have a feeling Vicki would have been snickering away at my antics today, had she been watching me from above. It seems like the kind of thing the brave goofball teacher would have appreciated.

Thank you, Miss Soto - Vicki - for teaching us that super heroes do exist and that love wins in the end.

"No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure." - Emma Goldman 

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 23

Today's Act of Kindness pays tribute to Benjamin Wheeler, age 6. Ben lived his six short years at full speed. He was bursting with enthusiasm and energy and ran headlong into everything he did. Ben loved to play soccer and would often still be running the field after practice had finished. He had been taking swimming lessons and was excited about his newfound ability. 

Ben loved lighthouses, bacon and eggs and the Beatles. Ben was born in Queens and it seems part of that heritage never left him. He loved to ride the train in New York. He didn't care about museums or concert halls - young Ben always wanted to ride the subway when they went to the city to visit.

Ben idolized his big brother, Nate. Their parents say both boys had enough energy to fill the house with the sounds of four children. Ben had recently told his mother that, while he still wanted to be an architect when he grew up, he also wanted to be a paleontologist, because that's what Nate wanted to do, and he wanted to do everything with his brother.

Ben was born into a musical family. Both of his parents are in music and theatre, and Ben had a pitch-perfect voice and was learning to play the piano. At a recent recital his grandfather recalled how he bolted out of his seat and ran to the piano, he held still just long enough to play his piece, and dashed back to his seat. That was just Ben, always in a rush - there was simply too much life to live. His grandfather used to say that Ben would go places, he would make a difference in the world. His mother said that she never imagined that the difference he would make in the world would be because of his death.

His mother, who writes and sings children's songs, wrote this lullaby - A Star in the Sky for her sons. It was played at little Ben's funeral, and by the time the last note hung in the air there wasn't a dry eye in the church. And just recently twenty-six new stars were added to Newtown, as a past resident donated six larger copper stars and twenty smaller ones to adorn the roof of the Newtown Firehouse, as a permanent reminder of the brilliant lights that went out all too soon.

For our Act of Kindness today I decided to combine several of the passions in young Ben's life, since he was so full of passion. I found a model kit for a metal lighthouse (I figured since Ben wanted to be an architect and loved lighthouses he would have been fascinated by it) and a Beatles t-shirt. 

My plan was to hop on the Max light rail train (Portland's version of the subway) and give the items to two random people. However, I was having a bad MS night and wasn't feeling very good, so I sent my husband to act as the messenger again, since he's found he loves participating in these acts as much as he can.

He reported back when he got home: He got on the train and began looking for people that might like the items he had. He found a man quickly who seemed like he might be a Beatles fan. My husband approached him and asked if he was. The man replied, "Yeah," while looking hesitant, like he was afraid my husband was trying to sell him something. My hubby handed him the shirt and explained we were doing an Act of Kindness in honor of Benjamin Wheeler and this was for him. The man's eyes lit up, a huge grin appeared on his face, said what an awesome thing to do, he thanked my husband and promised he would pay it forward. My husband couldn't find anyone who seemed to fit the lighthouse so he left it on the seat, and hopefully someone who it will be perfect for will find it.

I asked him to do one other thing when he got off the train. The train tickets are always good for two hours, and since all he did was ride one stop up and one stop back, there was still over an hour and a half left on the ticket. I asked him to just tape the ticket to the ticket machine so the next person who came up to buy a ticket could use it. Well, my husband didn't seem to think that was good enough for Ben. He came home with a picture of the the Acts of Kindness card and the train pass he taped to the ticket machine... it was a pass for a whole week. I have no words. 

Ben, thank you for sharing your passion for life, and may we all learn to live life at full force.

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” ― John Lennon

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 22

Today I honored Lauren Rousseau, age 30. Lauren had been having a hard time for the past few years, but this past year everything in her life finally seemed to be coming together.

Lauren graduated with a Master's degree in education in 2006, but because of the economy and recent teacher layoffs she was unable to find a permanent teaching position. She spent the years since then filling in as a substitute teacher when she could and working other jobs, like being a barrista at Starbucks. In the midst of this she was diagnosed with a thyroid issue and had to have surgery.

This past year things started going right for Lauren. She had found love - she met a man named Tony and they had just celebrated their one year anniversary and were talking about moving in together. In October Lauren finally was able to land a full-time teaching job, with the principle Mrs. Hochpsrung to thank. It turns out Lauren had been a student of the principle's husband years before and was still considered a family friend to the Hochsprungs. Lauren was hired as the building substitute teacher for Sandy Hook Elementary, meaning she would show up there every day and fill in where she was needed. She didn't get benefits and made only $75 a day, but she was thrilled to finally be teaching every day. Being a teacher had always been her dream job. Her mom recalled Lauren, as a child, placing her stuffed animals on the floor and "teaching" them on her mini chalkboard. On December 14th Lauren was filling in for a teacher who was out on maternity leave.

Lauren loved music, dance, and theater. Before she was working full time she would take the opportunity to see musicals on Broadway during the Wednesday matinees, when tickets are less expensive. She loved her cat, and she and her boyfriend were talking about adopting a dachshund together. She also loved Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings. She and Tony had plans to go see the Hobbit with another friend on the night of her death - she had even baked cupcakes with the characters' faces on them to celebrate her friend's birthday.

Lauren's dad said that Lauren was like a kid in many ways, and that's why she loved working with them. She was always smiling... or if she wasn't she was trying to get someone else to smile. One friend called Lauren "faithful, thoughtful and ridiculously fun."

During her eulogy Lauren's friends repeatedly referenced her as an angel, and told how that's even how she signed her text messages with a little angel emoticon. 0=)  One friend said that Lauren's angel wings grew fully here on Earth so that she could fly her little ones to Heaven.

We really don't know what happened in Lauren's classroom. But I have no doubt that she did what the other teachers did and put herself in front of those in her care. And there is no way that I could do 26 Acts of Kindness and not do one for teachers.

Six brave women gave their lives trying to protect their students, and I believe this is how the majority of teachers would have acted in the same circumstances. They devote their lives to helping children - and it certainly isn't for the money. They shape the minds of our kids, teach them about all that is right in the world... and sometimes have to explain that things don't always go as we'd hope. And, though it's definitely not in their job description, they protect those that are most precious to us when we can't be there to do it ourselves.

So, in honor of Lauren the angel, I found a little Willow Tree teacher figurine  - an angel holding an apple. I purchased two of them, attached our Acts of Kindness cards to them and wrote little notes on the back saying "thank you" for all that teachers do. I picked up the kids from school today and we delivered them to their classrooms.

Neither of their teachers were there when we dropped off our gifts, but I hope that when they find the angels they will be touched, both by the random kindness and also by Lauren's story.

Thank you, Lauren... and teachers everywhere.

"I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people living ordinary lives." - T. Chapman 

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 21

For today's act of kindness we honored Grace McDonnell, age 7. We actually got to Grace's name last weekend, but I had an idea of what I wanted to do for her that required a little trip, so we didn't have the chance to do it until today.

Young Grace, or Gracie as she was called by many, seems to be the quintessential girly-girl. =) As I was reading about her I couldn't help but think she had so much in common with my daughter.

Gracie's favorite colors were pink and purple and she loved anything sparkly. But she also had a spitfire personality and loved to tease her older brother. She was a fashionista and was having a ball learning both dance and gymnastics. She was the "light" of their family - her mother shared her last memory of Gracie: the morning of her death, as she drove away in the school bus and blew kisses. And the weekend after, as her mother had just taken a shower and came out to find a peace sign (that Gracie always loved to draw) and the words, "Grace loves Mommy" etched on the bathroom mirror.

Grace loved art and especially painting. When her parents first saw their daughter's tiny white casket their hearts plummeted, but then they saw a white canvas waiting for beauty. They took Sharpies and, with Grace's brother, they filled the white with all of the things Grace loved: ice cream cones, cupcakes, pink ribbons... and the beach.

If there was something that Grace loved more than anything else it was the beach. She adored her summer vacations spent with her family on Martha's Vineyard. She loved lighthouses, seagulls, hunting for seashells, and building sand castles.

In her eulogy the priest compared her to both a lighthouse and a seashell. Little Grace would be the light guiding her loved ones now. And just like a seashell, the memory of Grace would the the beautiful remains of something that was gone too quickly.

After the funeral, and despite their grief, Grace's parents went out and did their own act of kindness. At the restaurant where they ate that afternoon they paid for every customer who came in that day to have a cupcake in Grace's honor.

For Grace's Act of Kindness I felt I needed to go to the beach. The Pacific is just over a short hour drive from our home. So I decided to take my kids and their friend, who were all off of school for MLK Day, to the Oregon Coast for the day. We spent part of the day in Tillamook - eating cheese and ice cream - I'm sure Gracie would approve of that. And then we drove up to my favorite beach in Oregon - Cannon Beach.

My idea for today's act of kindness was based on two things. First: I knew Gracie loved hunting for seashells, but I have a feeling, had she ever been to an Oregon beach she would have LOVED hunting for Japanese floats.

Japanese floats are glass spheres that were commonly used to keep fishermen's nets and other gear afloat in decades past. They were most commonly used in Asia, and have a habit of washing ashore in the Pacific Northwest (following the tsunami we actually had a huge cement Japanese dock wash ashore here last year). The floats come in a variety of colors, and are beautiful treasures if you are lucky enough to find one. They are becoming less and less common to find anymore because most fishermen are now using plastic floats.

The second basis for this act of kindness is this: As the number of floats washing ashore dwindled one local glass-blowing artist, displaying his own act of kindness, decided to do something about it. He went about creating thousands of glass floats and having "float fairies" hide them along the stretches of beach surrounding Lincoln City, OR. So now, people come from all over and walk the miles of beaches in hopes of finding a beautiful glass float left behind from the float fairy.

I have a feeling Gracie would have adored searching for glass floats, and would have been thrilled to ever find one. So while we were out today I picked up a Japanese Float (they can be found in local souvenir shops), along with two shells - one pink and one purple - for Gracie's favorite colors. I attached an Act of Kindness note to the float and on the back explained that whomever found it should take it home and then pay it forward.

Then we drove to Cannon Beach. I chose Cannon Beach because it has a lighthouse - something that Grace also loved. I found a nice spot that was sheltered from the waves, but was visible enough to be seen by people passing by. I left the float and the two seashells in the sand there, with the lighthouse in view... just waiting for someone to find it.

I hope that Grace enjoyed our act of kindness in her honor today and that, like the lighthouse, she guides the right person to her special float.

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." - Buddha

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 20

Today's Act of Kindness honored Avielle Richman, age 6. Avielle, or Avie as she was called, was a mighty girl. Her parents said she was born a spitfire and never changed, and she had a smile that could get her out of anything. Avie wasn't your typical 6-year old girl. Her favorite color was red, her favorite book was Harry Potter, she loved to hear stories and tell stories. She took kung fu, she loved music and super heroes, and after seeing the movie Brave she decided to start horseback riding and archery. 

Avie loved to wear her pink cowboy boots when she went riding and would giggle away as she trotted on her pony. She was just about to lose her first tooth and was very excited by the prospect of it. She said her dream car was a minivan, and she wanted an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas so she could make cookies for her mom. 

Avie was an only child. I feel especially bad for her parents, not that having other children would lessen the pain of losing one, but at least if you have another child you have to keep going for them. They lost their one and only - their "little hummingbird" and I can't imagine their grief. 

Avie was born and lived most of her life in San Diego. Her parents still called her their "California Girl" and they found it next to impossible to get her to wear shoes when they moved to Connecticut last year, since she was so used to running barefoot on the beach. You can see the California Girl in her on the photo taken on her 6th birthday - the sunglasses pulling her hair back and the bare feet, even in Connecticut in October.

So today to honor Avie the family decided to pay homage to the mighty girl she was. My daughter and I went shopping, trying to find something that would fit the spunky Avie. We found a neat Wonder Woman tee shirt that said "Girls Rule" (indeed!) and we also picked up a Brave storybook about Merida and her horse, and a Brave CD with music and a story on it.

I decided that I wanted to give this gift to a girl who could use the spitfire aura that little Avie projected - someone who could use some fight in them. The family took the bag of goodies (along with a $5 Target gift card I was handed upon checking out and decided to pass along to someone else who needed it more) down to the Women and Children's Shelter in Portland - a place where mothers and children can go to escape domestic violence.

We tried to walk in the door, but it was locked. I started to panic thinking we'd have to find somewhere else to take our gift, but just as we were about to walk away a woman came to the door. We told her we were there doing a Random Act of Kindness, my son handed her the bag as I explained to her that we would like her to pass the gift onto a mother who had a daughter between the ages of 5 and 8. She smiled and said she was sure they could find someone to give it to. She thanked us for our kindness, and I thanked her for all that she does for the community.

I hope that Avie's passion for life and her fierce personality help another young girl and a mother in need. As Wonder Woman would say, "Change their minds and change the world!" You go, Avie!

"Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but manifestations of strength and resolution." - Kahlil Gibran

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 19

Today's Act of Kindness honors Mary Sherlach, age 56. Mary was the school psychologist at Sandy Hook Elementary, and had been for 18 years. She loved her job and was always there to help the students and staff with any problems they might have had. People have said that it's tragic Mary died that day, because now is when she is most needed as she would have been able to help the survivors deal with their problems. I think she did what she thought she should do when she really was most needed. She spent decades protecting and comforting the psyche of the children, and she spent seconds protecting their bodies - even with her life. 

 Mary was a mother of two daughters, and had been married to her husband for 31 years. She loved life. Everything about it, it seems. She was vivacious and compassionate, fearless and gentle, organized and fun-loving, and had a smile that could light up a room. 

 Mary decided to become a psychologist after her daughters were born and many of her friends admired her strength and perseverance to be able to make it through that much schooling with two young children. But Mary was a tough cookie. Her husband said he wasn't surprised when he was told she had died that day - if something bad was going down he knew she would be right in the middle of it. It was simply who she was. If someone - anyone - had a problem, she wanted to be there to help. 

 At work Mary was known for her work ethic and organizational skills. She color coded her schedules and her office always looked like it was ready for a magazine shoot. No loose folders on her desk, no work left undone... 

 When she was home Mary loved to read and garden, which she spent a lot of time doing during the summers when school wasn't in session. She was a diehard Miami Dolphins fan, and loved to sing and dance along to music on the radio - her favorites were the Eagles, and she would pull her daughters to their feet and insist they dance along with her. But she was always a psychologist, whether it was her family, her friends or a neighbor that needed help through a rough patch, Mary was always the one they called. 

 This school year was to be Mary's last before she retired. She and her husband were planning on spending more time at their vacation home in the Finger Lakes region of New York. This past summer Mary invited their neighbor who was going through a divorce to come along with them. The neighbor told her she was too busy, and that she would do it next year... That neighbor said that's the last lesson she will learn from Mary - to do things now, because you never know when it will be too late. 

This whole tragedy is bringing so many different issues to the forefront right now. Access to guns and ammunition, protection in schools, violence in our culture, sensationalist media, and the state of mental healthcare. I tried to avoid a lot of the media coverage of the tragedy at the time it happened - which is odd because now I'm going out of my way to find out information about each and every victim. But I am intentionally focusing on the victims, not the killer. 

But one piece of information did find its way to me via Facebook in those first few days - a piece written by a mother of an unstable teenage son. Her story is heartbreaking and frightening all at the same time. She fears her son could end up in the same situation as this killer, and it terrifies her. She has done all she can for her son - to protect him and to protect others FROM him, but with the state of mental healthcare there is nothing more she can do for him or others unless he is convicted of a crime. The last time she admitted him to the hospital on suicide watch she filled out an intake form that asked her what she hoped she could achieve with her visit. She only wrote: "I need help." 

 Mary made it her life's work to help those who were having a rough time, those who were unstable and those who suffered from mental illnesses. One in four adults and one in ten children in the US suffer from mental illnesses. These people need help and hope and understanding. 

 So in Mary's name and honor today I donated the last of our charity giftcard money to NAMI - the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI "advocates for access to services, treatment, supports and research and is steadfast in its commitment to raise awareness and build a community for hope for all of those in need." I hope this donation can be put towards finding a better way to handle mental healthcare and more ways to help those in danger. 

 Thank you, Mary, for everything you did. Take it easy. 

 "Never look down on anyone, unless you're helping him up." - Jesse Jackson

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 18

Today we honored Caroline Previdi, age 6. Caroline, like Joey, was nicknamed "Boo" due to her resemblance to the Monsters, Inc. character. She was also known as "Silly Caroline" as she always went out of her way to get people to smile. She used to play peek-a-boo with her kindergarten neighbor on the bus to distract him when he was upset.

She was obviously a giving little girl who was concerned about others. Last year she even broke into her piggy bank to donate her money to the Christmas toy-drive her church was having.

Caroline loved to dance and sing. She also loved to draw, she would make artwork and leave it for her family - once her father was gone on business and found a drawing in his briefcase that said "I love you Daddy!"

She followed her 3rd grade brother everywhere he went, much to his dismay. She loved having something special in her hair.  And Caroline was a Yankees fan... so much so that when the family went on a trip to Boston and was going to go to a game at Fenway Park she absolutely refused to go in (which, in my opinion, is kind of sad because she probably would have gotten a kick out of everyone singing "Sweet Caroline" in Fenway =) ).

One of the people interviewed at Caroline's funeral was the doctor who treated her as a newborn infant (I'm guessing she was premature, since he was a neonatologist). He said that he is so used to sending parents home with their now-healthy baby and reassuring them that everything will be fine and to invite him to their wedding. He would never get that chance with Caroline.

When I looked at the picture of Caroline, she did, indeed, look a lot like Boo. She also would play peek-a-boo with her neighbor,  and I remembered that I had seen the most adorable little Boo baby beenie on the Disney Store's website recently. So, I thought for my Act of Kindness I would go pick up that baby hat and deliver it to a hospital and some parents could take it home with their new little girl.

So this morning I drove down to the mall and walked into the Disney Store. But apparently they don't sell that hat in the stores, only online. Hmm... So I perused the Monster's, Inc. merchandise and picked up a little Boo plush instead.

I wandered the other stores in the mall picking up some shirts for my husband and a little something for myself, and in my wandering I realized that I could make a Boo hat pretty easily if I could just find a hat to begin with. I went in search of a little purple cap and found one in the Children's Place that would work pretty well, and also ended up stumbling onto a purple outfit on clearance that would go great with it, so I picked that up too. I brought all the goodies home and then spent a few minutes giving the hat a monstery makeover.

The kids and I took our baby goodies over to the nearest hospital. We told the woman at the information desk that we were there doing a random act of kindness and wanted to leave this for a random little girl who was under 6 months. She smiled sadly and said that was sweet, but they don't have children at their hospital - they send them all down to the Children's Hospital in Portland. I asked if they ever get infants coming into their emergency room. She brightened and said, "Yes! All the time!" and pointed us in the direction of the ER. As we were walking away she told the kids what a wonderful thing she thought it was that they were doing. We made our way to the ER and gave the bag of goodies to the Admitting desk, and told the lady there our story. She smiled and said "thank you" and that she would keep it there at her desk until she found a baby girl for whom it would be great.

The whole lot of monstery goodies could definitely be classified as "silly" so I think that it would have pleased the sweet and giving "Silly Caroline."

----
I always leave quotes about kindness at the end of my AoK - today's is something that I heard on the big TV at the Disney Store while shopping today. It seemed fitting and it gave me chills and I had to share it:

"I am a Princess.
I am brave sometimes. I am scared sometimes. Sometimes, I am brave even when I am scared.
I believe in best friends. And new friends. But mostly I believe in helping my friends.
I am a Princess.
I think having big dreams is important. I think having a big heart is more important.
I believe being gentle makes me strong.
Kindness is power.
And family means everything to me.
I have heard I am beautiful. I know I am strong.
I am a Princess.
Long may I reign."
- Disney Jr.

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 17

Today's Act of Kindness honored Noah Pozner, age 6. Noah's obituary stated:

“How do you capture the essence of a 6-year-old in just a few words? Noah was an impish, larger-than-life little boy. Everything he did conveyed action and energy through love. He was the light of our family, a little soul devoid of spite and meanness.”

Noah's mom described how, only nights before his death, he walked down the stairs after bedtime - shirtless. When she asked him what he was doing he told her he needed one more hug. When she asked him why he had his shirt off he replied, "So I can feel your heart better."

Noah loved to read and figure out how things worked mechanically. His uncle described him as very inquisitive, and extremely grown up and bright.

Noah must have been bright, considering he was the same age as most kindergarteners. He was the youngest of the victims. Noah and his twin sister, Arielle, had only been 6 for a matter of weeks. The two of them were the best of friends and were inseparable, other than at school since they had been placed in separate classes. Arielle was assigned to a third class of 1st graders that was unharmed, and their 7 year old sister, Sophia was safe as well (they also have a teenage brother and sister).

As I have written I have focused on the victims, not the shooter. My husband even challenged me further shortly after I started writing these to not mention the shooting at all, which I have tried to do. However, upon reading about Noah and his mother's actions after his death, I think, today, I owe it to her and Noah to share a bit of her message as well.

Noah's mother has been very outspoken about how her son died. She describes how she made the impossible decision to view his body:

“I owed it to him as his mother, the good, the bad, the ugly … It is not up to me to say I am only going to look at you and deal with you when you are alive, that I am going to block out the reality of what you look like when you are dead. And as a little boy, you have to go in the ground. If I am going to shut my eyes to that I am not his mother. I had to bear it. I had to do it.”

The Governor of Connecticut attended Noah's funeral. Veronique went to him ans asked him to come with her and view Noah's open casket, in hopes that something, someday, might come from it.

 “I needed it to have a face for him … If there is ever a piece of legislation that comes across his desk, I needed it to be real for him.”

Veronique told how her son, the very youngest of the victims, was shot 11 times. At close range. I won't go into the full details of what she said. If you want to read it you can find it easily, I'm sure. But it is heartbreaking - as all of this is - and I can only assume her description could be multiplied by 26, and that makes it all that more gut-wrenching. In explaining why she chose to release these details about her son she said:

"I just want people to know the ugliness of it so we don’t talk about it abstractly, like these little angels just went to heaven. No. They were butchered. They were brutalized. And that is what haunts me at night.”

And it does haunt her at night. The night of his death, understandably she hardly slept, and when she did drift off she dreamt of wandering an abandoned house on an island, knocking on doors, searching for Noah. Calling out to him over and over, waiting for him to answer. She woke from the dream screaming. Her teenage daughter comforted her.

Days after his death, President Obama came to visit the families of the victims. Veronique told him about her dream, about searching and calling for Noah and how he never answered. The President leaned over and whispered to her, "If you listen closely, he is answering you." She said that helped her a lot.

Veronique and other parents of the victims have been in contact with the White House over the past weeks and many have submitted their suggestions on the new legislative matters that were proposed today.

You might not all agree with the legislation, but in my opinion it is the very least we can do. I won't go into my beliefs on this... that's not what this is for, but I will say that in honor of Noah and his friends and educators I signed emails I received today from the White House and the Brady Campaign. I think that Noah and his mom would be pleased.

So... on to today's actual Act of Kindness. Noah was exceptionally bright and he loved to figure out how things worked and was fascinated by mechanical things. I have a feeling he might have gone into science or engineering had he had the chance.

Today my plan was to drive down to Portland and go to the OMSI (the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) - a wonderful place that our whole family enjoys visiting - and buy a ticket for a random child there. I was going to go right after my daughter's orthodontist appointment this morning. But it took too long and by the time I dropped her off at school I didn't have time to make it down there and back before the Elementary School Yearbook Committee meeting I had to go to. So I decided to go after the meeting, but the meeting ran late and I didn't have time to make it down there and back before the kids got home from school. Then I thought about taking the kids with me to do it, but my daughter has been having such a hard time with her homework lately that I hated to push it off anymore, and the museum closed at 5:30pm...

So I decided to just call the OMSI and purchase the ticket over the phone and just have them pass it out at the cashier's desk. I called and told them I was doing a random act of kindness, that I couldn't make it down there today, but I would like to purchase a ticket for a random child who came to the museum. The girl who I was talking to said they couldn't do ticket sales over the phone. My heart sank and my mind started racing, trying to think of another possible option, but then the girl asked me if I could hold on for a minute. When she came back on the phone she said, since I was trying to do a kind deed, that instead of purchasing a ticket they would donate one of their vouchers to be used in my name for the next child who came in. I was touched. What a wonderful thing for them to do - I never expected anything like that to happen, but it's so incredible to know that other people (and organizations as well) go out of their way to do something good for someone else. It almost brought me to tears, and I was still fighting them back as I told the young lady that I didn't want my name on it, but rather that of "Noah Pozner, Age 6. Act #17 of 26"

Noah's mother described a recent dream of him where he smiled at her and said, "Mommy, I'm having fun."

I hope that he is. And I hope that he enjoys the realms of the universe being opened to him now.

"What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?" - Jean-Jacques Rousseau 

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 16

Today's Act of Kindness honored Jack Pinto, age 6. Though he never had the opportunity to grow into a man, I still think it's fair to call young Jack a man's man. Jack loved sports - whether it was playing them or watching them.

Jack played many sports, including football, baseball and basketball. He also skied and had just began wrestling.

Jack's wrestling coach described him as a tough kid who was respectful and polite. His parents said that he was a vivacious boy, who had a lively and giving spirit paired with steely determination.

He displayed this determination during his last wrestling practice. He was out on the mat practicing when he lost his tooth. He walked up to the coach, handed him the tooth - smiling a now-gapped grin - and went back to the mat to practice. After practice his mom asked him what happened to his tooth he simply replied, "Oh, Coach has it." The wrestlers have now coined the phrase "Pinto Break" for when someone loses a tooth. And that's not the only way the wrestling world honored Jack. The USA Wrestling Federation has renamed the award given during a major international Greco-Roman wrestling competition the "Jack Pinto Cup" in loving memory of their little wrestler.

Jack also loved the NY Giants, and their wide receiver, Victor Cruz, in particular. He was buried in Cruz's jersey, and Cruz paid tribute to Jack during a game the Sunday after his death.

Little Jack was also clearly adored by his best friend. At his funeral sat a photos of the two boys with their arms draped across each other's shoulders and this heartbreaking letter:

"Jack, You are my best friend. We had fun together. I will miss you. I will talk to you in my prayers. I love you Jack. Love, John"

Jack's Act of Kindness seemed to scream sports, and last night I was pondering this and having thoughts of football running through my head. My dear friend, Julie, honored Jack in her Acts of Kindness by donating to a local organization two footballs - one red, one blue - for two best friends to play together. I think her act of kindness was perfection. I racked my brain for an idea of my own.

Today I had to head to the hospital for my MS check-up and figured I could do my act of kindness while I was there. I thought if anyone could use some happiness added to their day it would be someone in the hospital. But what kind of sports-themed Act of Kindness do you do for someone in the hospital?

Let me first say, I'm not a sports fan. If it doesn't involve running insane distances, I really couldn't care less (okay, I don't mind watching soccer, but that's probably because of all the running involved). So I don't really have a lot to base a sports Act of Kindness on. But as I was trying to fall asleep last night my mind landed on something: the movie Rudy. It's a wonderful movie about a determined young man whose love for football and where it took him and his teammates was so touching that I still can't watch the movie without crying. Very fitting for young Jack. And then I thought of The Blind Side as well, another inspiring movie about a young man and where football would take him in his life.

So this morning I rushed over to Target before my appointment and picked up copies of both Rudy and The Blind Side. After my appointment I wrapped the movies in NY Giants colored ribbon and attached my Act of Kindness note to them, and wrote on the back of the note: "For a Football Fan Having a Bad Day. I hope these lift your spirits." I took the movies down to the emergency room and I walked up to the check-in desk.

I told the three ladies at the desk that I wasn't there to check-in, that I was out doing random acts of kindness and I asked them if I could leave the movies on their desk so a football fan might find them and take them home. They were all touched. One of the women told me they have a DVD library at the hospital for people to check out movies and watch them in their rooms, and asked if I would possibly be willing to let them use the movies for that. I told them, of course! Another of the women told me to write down my name and address so they could send me something in return. I hesitated and told them I wasn't doing this in order to get anything in return (other than warm fuzzies!) - but she insisted. She told me that they are so pleased to know that people do good things for the community and that Providence likes to know this as well.

It's kind of fun to see different people's reactions to these acts. Some, like yesterday's, are perplexed and just can't figure out what it is you're doing. And others, like today's are touched and grateful, and some even want to pay back the good deed.

I just hope they pay it forward. Hand-off the kindness to the next player and hopefully we'll all score. For Jack.

"Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you." - Princess Diana

26 Acts of Kindness - Day 15

Today's Act of Kindness was in honor of Anne Marie Murphy, age 52. Mrs. Murphy had a master's degree in education and worked as a special education teacher in Miss Soto's class. She was assigned to work directly with little Dylan Hockley, who adored her. 

Mrs. Murphy had worked at Sandy Hook for years. She loved her job and the children she worked with. Hauntingly, after the tragic events of September 11th, she and a fellow educator had a conversation about what they would do if a terrorist ever entered their schools. The woman told reporters that Anne Marie did exactly what she had said she would in that conversation more than decade before: she shielded her students with her own body in an attempt to protect them. She was found cradling Dylan Hockley and several other students.

Anne Marie, known to her family and close friends as "Annie," loved her family - she was a wife, and the mother of four children. Everything that I read about her said that her family was her life. There isn't much information on the life of Anne Marie online. What I found said she loved taking walks outside, that she had also been a piano teacher and that she was a lover of the Arts.

When I read that over the weekend in preparation for this Act of Kindness I recalled that I had gotten a Groupon in my emails for the Portland Art Museum. I went back through my emails and tracked it down. I purchased the deal (two tickets for the price of one), then I noticed the Museum wasn't open on Mondays - that's why Mrs. Murphy was pushed to today. 

I hopped on the Max light rail this afternoon to head downtown to the Art Museum. I picked a seat close to the heater (it was cold today!) and sat down, then I glanced out the window. On the windowsill were three colorful origami paper cranes. I smiled, snapped a photo of them - they were a welcome site - and posted it on Facebook. But it wasn't until later this evening that I started thinking about those paper cranes a little bit more. I recalled a book I read in elementary school about a girl in Japan who was dying of cancer and made a goal to fold 1000 paper cranes, and there was something about what the Cranes symbolized that I couldn't recall. I Googled the story this evening. Her name was Sadako Sasaki and she developed leukemia from the radioactive fallout of the bombing of Hiroshima. She only made it to 644 before her death, but her classmates finished the other 356 in her honor.

When looking for the symbolism of the crane I found this:

Today this practice of folding 1,000 cranes represents a form of healing and hope during challenging times. After the events of September 11, as a gesture of support and healing, thousands of cranes were folded and linked together in chains and sent to fire and police stations, museums, and churches throughout New York City. 

Traditionally, flocks of 1,000 cranes are offered at shrines or temples with prayer, based on the belief that the effort to fold such a large number will surely be rewarded. Chains are often given to someone suffering from illness, as a prayer for their recovery, as a wish for happiness, and as an expression of sympathy and peace.  

A prayer often spoken over time by mothers seeking the protection of cranes has been: 

            “O flock of heavenly cranes - cover my child with your wings.”

Suddenly those cranes on the train today had a whole new meaning. I am left wondering if someone out there is folding 1000 cranes and leaving them in random places as a gesture of hope and healing after the loss we all suffered on December 14th. 

I certainly hope that's why they were there. And I'm so glad I found them at my seat today.

I made it downtown, hopped off the train and ran to the Museum (literally - it was part of my workout today). I went inside and handed my Groupon receipt to the lady at the ticket booth, along with two Acts of Kindness cards. I told her I was doing a random act of kindness and would like her to give the cards and the tickets to the next two people who came in behind me. She was confused. I told her again: just give my two tickets to the people in back of me along with those cards. She asked what it was all about. I told her I was doing 26 Act of Kindness in honor of the Sandy Hook victims and today's was for Mrs. Murphy who was a patron of the arts and I thought she would appreciate this. She still looked puzzled as I walked away. Perhaps I should have just asked for the tickets myself and handed them to the people who, by that time, were directly in back of me - a man in full cycling gear (yes, only in Portland will you find someone walking into an art museum decked out in exercise gear), and a mother with her toddler son. 

I hope that the ticket lady fully comprehended what I was doing and that the tickets made it to these individuals. And I hope that they appreciated the gesture in honor of a true hero.

Thank you, Annie.

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." - Helen Keller