Day 24 of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month - It's the Little Things!

I have less than a week to round out Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Most days, I have something scheduled, except for today and possibly Friday, 9/26 (I may have two bee-mates discuss in person via video how they helped me become the conduit to take quilts around the world for childhood cancer patients and more.

I was still deciding on today’s post when I noticed the scrap piece of paper I’d scribbled on — a list of ways people can help those in crisis. Over the years, friends and family would ask us how they could support a coworker, neighbor, or cousin facing a new diagnosis. We always had an answer ready by phone, text, or email. And even though I may have shared these ideas in past Septembers, I know this: sometimes we scroll past a message when it’s not for us… and other times, it lands exactly when we need it most. Today's post will be a reminder of the random acts of kindness we can share, as fleeting as it may be, but know that they add up over time in such a positive way.

Here’s what I learned in our journey: it’s not the grand gestures that carried us, but the little things. A single card with a funny cartoon and/or a heartfelt note of "I'm thinking of you." A pair of socks with bright stripes, sewing machines, or dogs. A bag of peanut M&Ms that could be slipped into my handbag for a tough moment in the hospital. Of course, those little things and gestures didn't change Ryan's diagnosis, but they sure lifted us up. And, all those "little things" reminded us we weren’t alone. In effect, they softened the edges of days filled with madness and despair too many to count. Plus, we must never forget this one: Never underestimate the power of a chocolate chip cookie - homemade or not!

The gold nugget of kindness is right there, in the little things. I cannot stress this point enough. Those "small acts" have a weight far beyond their size, because they hold intention, thought, and care. There really is nothing else that can replace that act and the good feelings we get as the recipient.

Even now, years later, I can still picture certain envelopes with heart stickers or smiley faces, a pair of cozy or wool socks on cold nights at home or in the hospital, or hear the fun sounds of our handheld Yahtzee games and the crinkle of candy wrappers that carried us through another round of waiting. Those gestures are stitched into my memory like the quilts (bigger items, I know) my bee-mates and quilt guild created for cancer kids I carried to Ethiopia and Puerto Rico, and also the quilts sent to Lahanina, Hawaii, after their devastating fires.

So if you’ve ever wondered how to help someone in crisis, know this: your smallest action might be the exact thread that holds them together that day. I know they did for me, especially with a handwritten card. When I had the chance to slit open an envelope while eating at my dining room table, I would take a deep breath, knowing I was thought of by a loved one that week. I can still feel that love that may be a bit indescribable. A short text can also help the butterflies swirling around our stomachs with a slight distraction that may be needed at that exact moment. Other helpful ideas include sending silly stickers, game books, a sketchbook and pens/markers, microwave popcorn, tea bags, a reading light, lavender spray, and a big one: a prayer whispered in the quiet. You may never know how much it mattered, but please trust me, it does more than you know.

If anyone is reading this post, or listening/watching the video below, and has sent us a small kindness through the years, we THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts! Hey, I'm still talking about it!

The Focused Fight: A Childhood Cancer Journey - From Mayhem to Miracles offers more valuable tips in Chapter 35.

And lastly, I sign my books with this little poem:

“Sometimes life’s greatest gifts

are in the smallest things

that make the biggest impact.”

Today, I believe that more than ever.

Terri