First, a little background.
I normally avoid any kind of "heart" paraphenalia: home decor involving hearts, memo notes with hearts on them, purses with heart zippers, lockets in the shape of a heart (you get the picture). I also have been a less than enthusiastic supporter of the color pink (unless it comes to dressing Ada or decorating her room). But come February of each year, some sort of switch is flipped and I find myself adoring hearts and all things pink and red (a color combination I would shun any other month).
It's Valentine's Day that does this to me. I *heart* February 14. My love affair with this day (that has clearly been hijacked by the greeting card and flower industry) began way back in middle and high school. Even though I was grossly lacking in the way a of a specific Valentine (read : I never had a boyfriend), I always got really excited about Valentine's day. It is a little embarrassing to admit, but I would even get a little dressed up for school on the 14th of February (yikes, that seems even weirder when it is written down). Yet despite all my romantic notions about this great day of love, the most memorable flowers I received (until Kevin realized that if he didn't latch on to me, then possibly no one would) were from my Dad--love indeed, but not exactly the romantic kind.
Now that I have my own permanent Valentine (who is always romantic enough to bring me flowers and a card, even if they were bought at a gas station on the way home from work), my enthusiasm for February the 14th hasn't waned. I love making Valentine's cards, decorating Valentine cookies, and even adding a few hearts (gasp) to my kitchen decor.
This year when contemplating the recurrence of my most favorite manufactured holiday, I thought it would be fun to host a sort of love giveaway in the blogosphere. (The trick is, I am not really giving anything away). So I am officially declaring this February of 2009 the Month of Love (yes, I know that this is a bit redundant since really, it has already been declared as such, but I couldn't come up with anything better). Instead of just one over-commercialized day, I say this whole month should be a sort of "pay it forward, " "show your heart," "spread the love" kind of month.
And here is where you (yes, all 2 of you loyal blog followers) come in. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find some creative way to spread a little love this month. Do something big or small, hidden or flamboyant, creative or just plain kind, for someone else this month. Do it for someone you know, or someone you don't. Do it for someone who is in need or who could use some encouragement. Do it for your next door neighbor, or for someone on the other side of the globe. Do it, and then leave a comment about what you did. Making a conscious effort to put a tangible face on love just might make a difference for someone you know, or someone you don't. So go on, go love someone out loud.
And just in case you need some ideas, here is a list (with corresponding links) on ways you can show some love.
* Pay for someone's lunch at your favorite restaurant.
* Buy some jewelry at Made by Survivors to help support women who have been rescued from the sex-trafficking industry.
* Donate food to your local food pantry.
* Donate money to the Retts Foundation to help find a cure for this disease. Or visit this blog to find out how you can help a little girl and her family deal with this disease.
* Visit a nursing home and ask to see a resident who doesn't normally get visitors.
*Click on the "Bringing Clean Water to Uganda" link in the sidebar and give money to help a community in Uganda.
*Go to the Conspiracy of Kindness website for other great ideas.
This could be the greatest Valentine's Day ever (and that would make me so happy:)).
8 comments:
Great idea. And obviously, we have already had somebody over for dinner. I will report back about what elso we do.
I think we will be putting money on a student's lunch card at school who normally stuggles to pay for lunch with the money you gave us at small groups.
I hope you get a lot more than two comments.
P.S. When you hyperlink, you need to change the color to something else, because I can't hardly read it. Maybe it is just my computer.
Oh Maria, you would have to go and make such an awful day seem somehow rosy and sweet now wouldn't you?! :) I was always bitter about the day (even known to intentionally wear black a few times) because either I didn't have a valentine or I did and then I had to spend money on something ridiculous. Color me irritable, not pink, please. But I will do my best to contribute. :)
Thank you SO much for mentioning Rett Syndrome. This is a great post Maria and I hope to touch some lives this month!!!!
Just to let you know that we have thought and done some extra acts of kindness due to this blog. I don't want to explain what we did here, but do know..we have acted! Thanks again for the challenge.
While the three of us were one the road we helped one of Allen's friends twice that broke down on the side of the road. One of those times was on the way down to TX and we turned around to help him, and the other time was Friday when were went and pull started him and then took him to a shop where he could save quite a bit of money on labor. We were going to be coming home when he called, so we got home early the next morning instead. We also bought a few guys dinner at a steak house. This was a great blog.
While the three of us were one the road we helped one of Allen's friends twice that broke down on the side of the road. One of those times was on the way down to TX and we turned around to help him, and the other time was Friday when were went and pull started him and then took him to a shop where he could save quite a bit of money on labor. We were going to be coming home when he called, so we got home early the next morning instead. We also bought a few guys dinner at a steak house. This was a great blog.
It is great to see the new comments!
I won't be as modest and humble as you Emily:) We bought some flowers from the grocery story and took them to the nursing home. We asked to see a resident who did not normally get visitors. It was a little awkard:) but i think she appreciated our surprise visit.
We made Valentines and heart-shaped pink rice krispie treats for some neighborhood families.
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