all in a day's work

My co-worker's daughter (the mother of the sweet little guy with leukemia) apparently cried when her mother told her about the gift basket that I had worked up for them. And the kid's father had wanted to rush home that night to pick up the air mattress so that he could sleep on that rather than the cold, hard floor. My co-worker told me that her daughter wants to come in and meet me and thank me when she is able to get away from the hospital. Really not necessary. Also that she wants to send me a picture of the little guy in one of his new bandannas. That, I would enjoy. I would hang him on my bulletin board above my desk as a reminder every day to be thankful for what I have.

I was able to complete my second act of kindness yesterday, as part of my own personal "Taylor-osity" movement. I have a co-worker who was twice bothered by our boss about how she wasn't in dress-code at work, because her shirt wasn't the right color. Looking at the girl, you could tell she was poor. So, I pulled her off of the register last night, and took a walk with her asking her what was up and if she had any shirts in the appropriate color. She didn't, and couldn't afford to buy any. So, we went through apparel, picked out three t-shirts and I bought them for her. I made her promise she was going to start wearing those to work, because I didn't want to hear boss's complaints about it anymore.

The best friend asked me last night if I knew anything about bone marrow transplants. We are going to research it a little more, and (although the odds are super-low), and get tested to see if we could be matches for our co-worker's grandson. As of now, I don't think he is in need of a transplant, but from what I have heard about leukemia, he probably will need one at some point. It'll probably be a bit painful (or certainly uncomfortable for the two of us), and we'd have to do it one at a time, one waiting until the other wakes up from it, just in case. Since we're basically each others closest thing to a family member in the local area. I don't think the procedure for the donor seems like it's too big of a deal. It looks like they go in through your hip bone with these un-Godly long needles, and extract some of the stuff they need - while you are knocked out, of course - and then you're free to go home several hours later. Compared to having leukemia, it seems pretty painless.

And finally, while I am not an Obama fan or supporter, I saw this quote and wanted to share:

"We cannot know for certain how long we have here. We cannot foresee the trials or misfortunes that will test us along the way. We cannot know God's plan for us. What we can do is live out our lives as best we can with purpose, and love, and joy. We can use each day to show those who are closest to us how much we care about them, and treat others with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures. And we can strive at all costs to make a better world, so that someday, if we are blessed with the chance to look back on our time here, we can know that we spent it well; that we made a difference; that our fleeting presence had a lasting impact on the lives of other human beings."
 - President Obama