generosity

generous people just tremendously warm my heart.  i experienced this on so many levels today.  through a serious of events, my family has become very involved in the Albert T Mills enrichment center.  this is a school for children ages 3-5 who live in a very rough part of atlanta.  the woman that started the school did so when her own son was shot and killed by a couple 16 year old kids.  she realized that they really did not understand the consequences of their actions.  she wanted to develop a place to teach kids right from wrong early and to prevent these tragedies from happening to other families.  the school is run completely on donations and they have SO much need.  they are out of money, and the teachers are now working without pay.  most of the students do not have heat at home and are sleeping on the floor.  the school serves the children breakfast and lunch and for some these are the only meals that they receive each day.  my mom and i have been talking about ways to help for the past few weeks and decided we really wanted to hit this hard for the holidays when people are in the giving spirit. 

this morning i set out to work on three initiatives that we developed.  one- give a thanksgiving meal to all 60 of the children's families.  i sent an email to my atlanta friends and had several people respond immediately wanting to participate.  two- organize a drive at my condominium for people to donate educational toys for their classroom.  the condo board is kind of uptight so i expected to receive push back but they thought this school was a great partnership opportunity.  three- one of my besties jill has her annual xmas party and plans to asks her 70 something guests to bring school supplies for the kids.  i'm so overwhelmed with how much everyone wants to help our community.  all i've done is send a couple emails....it is the people around that are so inspiring.  so excited to see where these projects go.....

about

the purpose of this blog is to take time to appreciate life.  i've searched high and low for a new topic to blog that gives me freedom but also has guidelines of sorts.  otherwise i will end up rambling about topics no one cares to read....which will probably happen anyway.  starting now.  when i have a blog, i am constantly running the next script in my head which i think makes me live life more thoughtfully.  i kept a gratitude journal in high school where i wrote down five things i was thankful for each day before bed.  my mom and i recently commented how therapeutic this practice was and that we should get back in the habit.  i am a very task oriented person, which means my desk and my mind are constantly littered with to-do lists for every area of my life.  i tend to not relax or be completely happy until these lists are accomplished.  some are as simple as take my cat to the vet or as grand as visit every continent.  this personality trait makes it very easy to miss the greatness in front of me today and difficult to be content (which some may argue is a level of ambition...fine line.)  as i sorted through these thoughts recently, i happened to stumble upon my wonderful friend, courtney's grateful blog.  we met in haiti last year, where we both left the country on a gratitude high.  she said this trip is what motivated her to photo-document her grateful moments.  i completely agree and am following suit.  here we go...

 (photo- haiti deaf camp)