Infinite Giving

It's that time of year...you know, when we all go nuts trying to find the perfect gift for the people we love.  It's kind of overwhelming, especially when there are so many people to buy for {and thank} for so many reasons.  

There are the teachers {thank god for them}, the bus driver {the man must be a saint, I can barely drive my bus with three kids in it}, the countless therapists/practitioners who help our kids everyday {so important!}.  I'm trying to keep it simple this year, but still, the list is long.

My own kids have made their lists for Santa, and I can't help but think, what DON'T my kids already have?  {Clearly we're blessed to have this problem}

So when a friend posted on Facebook today about donating an animal from Heifer International, I instantly knew it would bring us right back from the "I want" list, to the "what can I do to help someone?" list.

I called my three girls in to huddle around my laptop, and I explained how Heifer International provided animals to families in need all around the world.  The gift of these animals is a gift that gives indefinitely, because as their animals {whichever you choose} reproduce, the family promises to gift the offspring to other families in their community, and so on....it's the perfect way to pay it forward~forever.  My business has given me the opportunity to give back in such bigger ways this year, and I have total appreciation for that now.

So it's the initial gift of the animal or animals, that helps end hunger in their family or provide an income {selling eggs, wool, cheese} which can, in turn, send children to school, maybe for the first time in their lives.  When I tried to explain that part, I kept welling up.  It's kind of overwhelming when you take a minute to consider all the things we really take for granted.  I know I don't stop to appreciate basics like that enough.

We browsed the "Animals" section on the website, and they all agreed on the Basket of Hope.  It will provide rabbits and a flock of chicks to a family, as well as education on how to care for their animals, and the importance of passing the gift on to others.  It's not the most expensive item by far, but it's a start.  

One of my daughters asked, "How will they know it's from us?".  I tried to explain that the family will know the animals came from people somewhere in the world who cared for them, and it gets written on your heart, so it's OK they don't know who you are.  That's kind of the fun part.  It's our secret {except I'm telling all of you, in hopes that maybe you will do the same...}.

Check it out.  Maybe make it a family gift?  From this point on, it will be a tradition, for certain.  I typed up Honor Cards that each of my girls will get in the mail in a week or so, thanking them for their gift.  

Just make sure your kids realize they don't get to keep the animals, since mine are still asking how many chickens we will be housing.... :)

Have a great night!

{Jenn}

HOPE BASKET

The Hope Basket includes a gift of rabbits and a starter flock of chickens. Families also receive training and education in the animals' care to make sure their hope becomes a reality.

The gift of a Hope Basket:
Provides eggs and protein for nourishment
Boosts income through sales of extra eggs and offspring
Passes on the Gift to others, since animals multiply quickly

Rabbits are easy to care for and can reproduce in a short amount of time. Chickens lay eggs and provide manure for vegetable gardens. Your gift provides hope for struggling farmers looking for a way out of poverty.

Up To9XThe Impact

TO END HUNGER & POVERTY

Families who receive your gift become donors as they pass on the gift to other families in their community. This allows them to help others as you have helped them.

Lasting Impressions

I'm home for the second day with a sick little one, and it has given me some time to think about a conversation I had the other day with some co-workers.  We were talking about the importance of connecting with the kids we work with on a daily basis. It brought me back to my job as a direct care worker at a very special place.

Years ago, when I worked at Divine Providence (a residential institution for girls & women with disabilities) I was struck by a message shared with us by a priest during a community mass.  It was a story that described how every single interaction with a human being, child or adult, disabled or not, created an impression.  

Imagine the child as a ball of clay.  Every person who has contact with the clay, creates an impression.  Even if it seemed trivial, or fleeting,  even a minor interaction would  leave a fingerprint.  Regardless of how little it seemed, it still mattered.  It still left something lasting, tied to the person who held it in their hand.  Over time, the clay gets handled frequently, but HOW it is handled matters.  If it's treated gently, it remains in it's shape, pliable.  If it is roughed up, or forcibly handled, over time it becomes less pliable, hardens, dries up and crumbles.  It's kind of what happens to children who can't catch a break.  The kids who don't have someone looking out for them.

Maybe in that child's life, that ball of clay, gets tossed around, no one noticing how it is roughed up, disfigured, drying up, hardening....then what do we end up with?  A child lost.  The kids we see on the news.  The kids who end up hating their life, and everything around them.  


Teachers have an important role in this story...we interact with so many children throughout the day.  I saw this TED talk video today, and it seemed to make perfect sense.  It's worth watching.  Focus on the good.  Focus on the relationship.  Build kids up, and they won't let us down.

Have a great day~
{Jenn}

The Rabbit Hole...

When Alice fell down that rabbit hole, she didn't lose her physical self, she lost her mind, and later realized it was all a dream.  When dimentia and Alzheimer's takes hold of a person, it starts out the same, then takes everything. 

Stop and think about this for a minute.

What happened 5 minutes ago literally only exists in your mind. 

Funny how important those past 5 minutes become when you realize your loved one, dear friend, or partner has lost the ability to recall them.  

I have taken my oldest daughter to visit a dear friend who is living with the debilitating  effects of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.   On more than one occasion during our most recent visit,  I had to step away from their interaction together because I was so overwhelmed with emotion.  The compassion my ten year old showed was nothing other than a gift. I was amazed at her intuitiveness, and how she just seemed to know how to focus on the touch, feel or sound of things with my friend.  At one point, she took my daughters hand, looked straight at her, and said, "My buddy".  Then she retreated back inside of herself.  Making soothing, repetive sounds, and hand motions.  We sat together, listening to ocean sounds on a sound machine, and talked to her about a beach trip we took together once.  I imagine she was there in her mind.

Don't worry that your kids might be scared or worried about seeing others in a compromised state. They are stronger than us grown ups give them credit for. They have a capacity to love others and see past a disease. Straight through it. 

We took my friend her favorite treat, a frosty from Wendy's, and it was the sweetest couple of hours just sitting, being with her. I know her soul knows ours. She welled up a few times looking at us.  Her mind has betrayed her, but her soul has not. She knew us. She didn't have to say a word. 

Sometimes the hardest trips are the best ones, and shine a light on the capacity for caring you didn't even know existed.  It's powerful to be in the midst of a situation where grief, deep fear, and lonliness exists alongside beauty, caring and deep love.  How can something be terrifying and beautiful at the same time?  I really can't explain it, it just is.  Better to focus on the beauty, and finding the way into that special persons soul, becuase the alternative, the fear, is too much for any of us to bear alone.  I wouldn't want to be left alone just because it "appeared" that I couldn't understand anymore.  I would want you to keep reaching me in different ways, never giving up.

Believe it or not, there was humor {in a kind way} in her new home. While we were sitting with my friend, a man was sitting at a table next to us, waiting for a snack to be brought to him.  I could hear him crunching on something, so I looked over.  He was gobbling up sweet and low packets off of the table.  I (lovingly) said, "Don't do that!",  and he cracked up.  The staff member had her back turned for about two seconds, and like a kid sneaking cookies from the jar, he took advantage of the opportunity for a treat.  She moved them away, and went to get juice and gingerbread for him.  He looked over at me, slowly sneaked his hand across the table reaching as far as he could and shoved another one in his mouth.  "Hey!",   I called over to him, "Don't do that!".  He had the cutest michevious grin on his face, how could I not giggle a bit?  He cracked himself up. 

A few minutes later, a woman in an armchair told me I looked exactly like her daughter, but asked when I became black {I'm not} ?  I just agreed with her, and she told me I'd start being funny in about 4 months {good to know}.  We laughed, she patted my hand and told me something about going outside, and buying real estate.  In her mind it all made sense.  

Smiling, and laughing along with the different residents all in their own different stages of their disease was just another way to deal with what was all around me.  

In those moments, they were happy, cracking up, enjoying the visits, and the sugar packs....

At one point, the woman in the armchair stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "Thank you so much for coming here today.  It means so much that you came".  Whether she thought I was her daughter, or her neighbor, or whomever....she seemed to have a moment of clarity. Either way, I'll take it.

We enjoyed them too, and we'll be back for more.  

Visit someone who could use a visitor...❤

Have a great day today!

{Jenn}