Friday, October 9, 2009

People listen to me...


and I'm finally figuring out that it's an honor I need to be mindful of. I think it's very humbling to be reminded of how you impact people, specifically children. I recently saw one of my younger nephews (I have heaps of them!) and he mentioned playing softball. He said, I still keep my gear in the bat bag that you bought me when I was a little kid. "WHAT?" I thought. That was ages ago! My second thought was, "I need to get this poor man a new bat bag!" But on a deeper level, it reminded me that something seemingly simple that you do for a child can resonate through their lives.

I just got an email from my oldest nephew (WBC-N1) about a donation I had solicited. I'm participating in a 5K walk to raise money to ease homelessness in Los Angeles and had emailed friends and family asking them to help. He said "I remember having a talk with you about this years ago, and I just didn't get it, but thanks to loving people like you, I do now." I find it hard to express how deeply touched I am that this man remembers our conversations so well, and is moved to action by them. He's such a good fellow. I really feel blessed to have him in my life. To think that he paid such close attention to something I said so long ago is absolutely overwhelming. It creates a desire in me to choose and use my words to the best of my ability.