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 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:
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
No comments:
Post a Comment