Kindness

Greg and I were discussing how we aren't sure which date will be harder for us...November 26 when Norah died or April 26 when she was scheduled to be born.  Either way, both of those dates are hard for us.  Last year we took off on a family trip to Disney (see posts HERE and HERE).  It was a great distraction. 

This year I wanted to do something to honor Norah but involve the kids as well.  So, Maggie and I came up with a list of Acts of Kindness we could do around town to honor her.  We did these over a course of two days, and when it was all said and done, I felt like Norah approved and was watching over us. 

Lots of angel moms have something that reminds them of their angel...lady bugs, dragonflies, butterflies, etc.  For Norah, it is a pinwheel.  Pinwheels surround her tree in our front yard and her grave at the cemetery.  Each time I drive by a place that has pinwheels spinning in the wind, it makes me think of her.  I went to the dollar store and stocked up on pinwheels and each place we went doing our Acts of Kindness, the kids placed a pinwheel there.  I had no idea how much this portion of our day would bless me....now, as we drive back by those places, the pinwheels are still there and are still spinning! 


We started out at Nurses for Newborns (You can read about their organization HERE )  We took diapers, wipes, baby food, and baby soap and lotion to donate in honor of Norah.  We were lucky enough to get a tour, which the kids loved!  We drove back by on Saturday and the pinwheel was still spinning....

 

Next we went home and started baking cookies.  Our interim mailman was almost moved to tears!

 

Then we took another batch of cookies to Dr. C's office to thank them for all they have done for us.  Again we have driven by several times and seen the pinwheel spinning away:)

 Maggie and her friend Clara delivered plates of cookies to random porches in our neighborhood, and then we headed to the Glendale Fire Station with more cookies!

I made a call to a nurse at Mercy who runs the Heartprints program where I have attended support group meetings.  She let me know that there was a mom there on Friday going through a loss, so I ordered flowers to be sent up to the family.  This Act of Kindness really made me feel like I did something good for someone.  It was totally random--I didn't even sign my name to the card.  I just imagined how it would have made me feel if I would have received that gift while going through our loss.

On Saturday, we planted two rose bushes in front of our house.

Then we headed to the Webster Groves Police and Fire Departments with more cookies.

 And left our mark with another pinwheel (saw this one blowing in the wind yesterday!!)

 We then went to a local Redbox and left a bag of popcorn and money to pay for someone's movie night. 

Our last stop was to the cemetery.  We left pinwheels on all the baby graves that were bare. 

While I don't know who exactly was blessed by all these Acts of Kindness, I know that Norah's life has blessed someone out there--people that I will never meet or come face to face with.  It was so great to focus our energy on doing things for others and Maggie and Elliott took a great role in honoring Norah as well.