But, again, today didn't go as planned. Life got in the way... or rather, MS got in the way. By the time the kids got home from school I was worn down. I was waiting for my kids to finish their homework before we left to do our act of kindness. By the time 5:00 rolled around my daughter still wasn't done with her homework (actually, she still hasn't finished... 6 hours since she's been home) and I was completely and utterly out of spoons ("spoons" is a autoimmune disorder term - see description here). I think over the past month I've been using a credit card for spoons and yesterday I finally hit my spoon limit. Today was more of the same. I was simply too dizzy to drive and too tired to do more than walk up the stairs and collapse into my bed.
Needless to say, my plans changed. I am still planning on completing my planned act for Mrs. Hochsprung, but it will likely not be done until Saturday. So I decided to move on to the next person on my list.
Madelaine Hsu, or Maddy as many called her, was 6 years old. She loved to wear cheery flowered dresses. She was sweet, bright and determined. And despite being a bit shy, she lovingly took care of her younger neighbor on the bus rides to and from school. She would always give her mother and younger sister a hug when she got home from school. Her family said that she was an avid reader and loved running and dancing.
I knew right off the bat that my act of kindness this evening would have to be one I could do from my bed. That would mean that it, once again, is donation time. I know it's not the most creative act of kindness, but my hands are tied (or, rather, my legs are numb and my head is spinning). My plan for Mrs. Hochsrung today had involved reading, so I chose to focus on the fact that little Maddy loved to run. And everyone knows I can't turn down something to do with running!
I broke out another of our donation gift cards and started thinking of a charity that I might be able to donate to that would have to do with running, and I almost immediately remembered an organization called Girls on the Run.
Girls on the Run is a program for 8 to 13 year-old girls. They teach life skills through dynamic, conversation-based lessons and running games. Each young runner is paired with a running "buddy" - a woman runner who helps mentor, inspire, and encourage the young girl. The program culminates with the girls being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5k running event, which they run with their buddy. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness.
Perhaps Maddy would have joined her local Girls on the Run chapter when she was old enough. I think it would have been a great opportunity for her.
I have often contemplated being a "buddy" for GotR, but have hesitated because of my MS. Most of the GotR meetings are in the evenings, and the Portland-area group celebrates their completion by running the Starlight Run - an evening 5K run during the Rose Festival. I have feared that I wouldn't be able to complete my duties as a buddy due to my MS, and I wouldn't want to let down a young aspiring runner, so it's yet another thing that I haven't felt comfortable signing up to do.
So today it was good to finally be able help chip in to Girls on the Run, even if it was only in a monetary way. And maybe the girl who will benefit from the donation in Maddy's honor will get two running buddies - one woman and one angel.
God speed, Madelaine.
"How lovely to think that no one need wait a moment, we can start now, start slowly changing the world. How lovely that everyone, great and small, can make their contribution...how we can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness" - Anne Frank
Today's note had an awful lot about me in it, and I apologize for that, but in order to explain where today's act came from... well, today this was my reality.
ReplyDeleteI wish today's note had more information about little Maddy, but there just isn't much information to be found on her. Her parents have been very private - understandably so.
I have been trying hard to get to know each and every one of them - both to find a personal way to honor them, but also so that we all can remember their names, because theirs are the ones that should be remembered.
And I feel grateful that my daughter and I can be talking now and she will say something like, "Oh, just like Joey!" or one of the other names. Through our journey I will remember them and she will remember them and they will live on in our hearts.