Sunday, January 6, 2013

#13: Cheering Up a Friend

"26 acts of kindness","26 acts", "random acts of kindness","#26acts" My favorite way to perform an act of kindness is to "stumble upon" an opportunity.  Since I started this project, I have looked for things to do (such as give blood) when nothing presented itself naturally.  Act #13 was awesome because it involved a close friend and the act of kindness just fell into place.

My friend, Heather, had been posting on Facebook recently that her son, Jackson, was having health issues.  He was just diagnosed with a kidney problem and was on steroid medication for three months.  Because the medication suppresses his immune system, he had to stay home during the 2.5 week winter break while all his friends were going out of town, to playdates, and to camp.  It was too risky for him to go out in public and possibly catch a cold or something even worse.  I know he was bored and lonely.  Trust me, keeping a five year old home for two weeks is not fun for the parent or the child.

I wanted to do something nice for Jackson, so I tried to think of what would be most appreciated.  I thought back to the time when I broke my leg in first grade.  I had a plaster cast from my toes to the top of my thigh.  I'm sure I was in pain and miserable at first.  But that is not the part of the experience that I remember.  My most vivid memory of my broken leg experience was the numerous visitors who came to my bed bringing me gifts and candy.  I had no idea what I did to deserve all of the attention.  It was fabulous.  Who knew all a kid needed to do for extra presents was break a leg?

So back to Jackson.  I emailed his mom and asked if I could come with my son (who is also good friends with Jackson) to bring him a gift and cheer him up.  We showed up with a couple treats and a couple toys.  The boys had a blast together, and I could tell that both Heather and Jackson appreciated the visit.  When we left, I felt so good that I made Jackson's winter break a little more fun.




We are all wishing Jackson a quick recovery! 

1 comment:

  1. What a great act of kindness! You can tell by the look on Jackson's face that he really appreciated that visit!

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