Love, Gratitude, and Kindness

As many of you know, tomorrow is 4/20. Yep, yep. I would like to share how I will be celebrating, although it might be different than you think.

 

 

Two months ago tomorrow, one of the greatest men I’ve ever known passed away. He was not just my husband’s boss, he was his mentor and friend – someone both of us would always seek out for advice. Out of respect for his privacy (and his family’s) I’ll just call him H.

In honor of his memory, I’ve decided to make a few changes in my life, starting tomorrow.

Take more pictures with friends

When I make mistakes (and I make A LOT), instead of dwelling on them, I choose to learn from them. One of the few regrets I have is not having pictures of us together with H. I found pictures of his wife and daughter, but none with him. It really would have been comforting to be able to look back on pictures, so this is something I’m going to fix in the future. While I’m fairly consistent about taking pictures OF my kids, I rarely take pictures of me WITH them. From now on, no matter how important (or unimportant) the event, if I’m with my friends or family, we will be taking pictures together! So if you know me IRL, just be prepared for that.

Random Acts of Kindness

H and his wife are the most selfless, loving people I know. Period. They have helped us so much, and we’ll never be able to repay their generosity. The best thing I know to do is pass a little bit of that love on to others. So I have decided that my kids and I will be participating in Random Acts of Kindness (or RAKs) at least once a week. For our very first RAK, we’re decorating bookmarks today with positive messages. Tomorrow we will leave them inside books at a local library. Hopefully, they will brighten someone’s day! I’ll have a follow-up post soon about different RAK’s that we’ve tried or plan to try (easy, cheap options that are introvert-friendly).

Gratitude Letters

This one is a biggie for me. I’m terrible at even the simple “thank you” notes you’re supposed to write when someone gives you a gift at a baby shower or birthday party. What I plan to do – at least once a month, but hopefully more often – is pick a friend or family member and write an actual letter detailing why I am glad I have them in my life. When we knew H was really sick, I wrote him a letter trying to explain our gratitude for everything he had done for us. I was told his wife was able to read it to him before he passed, and I believe they both appreciated it. I only wish I had sent it sooner. I want to make sure the people in my life know how much I appreciate them. I plan on encouraging my kids to do the same as well.

So whether you already have plans for 4/20 or you weren’t planning on celebrating at all, I hope you will join us in at least one of these activities, to celebrate the life of this incredible man. If you do, please let me know about it! I would love to feature some of your own stories and pictures in my blog.

 

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