Kindness of Strangers

I read an article today… 

about breast-feeding.

I’m not a mum. 

I’ve never breastfed a baby.

I’m a big supporter of it…

But I know how difficult it can be 

for some mums to feed their children.

I find it strange that women 

are judged and criticised

 for feeding their children in public. 

I imagine that, if their baby was left un-fed

 and was starting to really scream in hunger,

the people around the mother 

would throw angry glares her way – 

and some people would most likely 

abuse her for her noisy baby 

and the fact it is obviously hungry.

So, why judge when she does feed her child?

Most women are very discreet when feeding. 

Often, a child may be fed 

and no one around the mother 

would even notice. 

Let’s face it, she doesn’t want 

anyone staring at her breasts! 

And, there’s always the option 

for bystanders to simply look away!

I’d like to think that times 

are changing and women no longer

 sit in public toilets to feed their children.

I think we are a little more understanding

 and accepting, as a whole.

So, the article I read…

A mother was in a pizza restaurant

and she was feeding

 her child at the table. 

Worried she was breaking social taboos,

 she felt quite self-conscious 

and soon noticed 

the waitress staring at her. 

She continued feeding, feeling guilty

 and half expecting to be asked to stop.

When her child still didn’t settle, 

she left the table early 

and waited in the car 

while her husband paid their bill.

And here’s the good bit:

The waitress… the staring waitress…

She was so impressed 

by the lady feeding her child 

that she paid for part of their bill.

The mother’s name is Jackie. 

The waitress is Bodi Kinney. 

Bodi’s message on the bill was simple: 

I bought one of your pizzas. 

Please thank your wife for breastfeeding!!

Such a simple act… 

and yet, a huge reminder 

that hungry children should be fed 

and we should never 

stop a mother from breast-feeding.

Our actions are very powerful… 

this waitress has empowered 

a breast-feeding mother… 

and women everywhere. 

What a beautiful gesture.

Read the article here.

Second Place Winner

 

This is the name of a winner:  

Ivan Fernandez Anaya.

OK, he didn’t win…

He came second in the race,

and his coach may have been

unhappy with that…

but, really, he won.

During a cross-country race,

his goodness and

sense of fair play really shone.

The race was close to finished…

Ivan was coming second. 

Abel Mutai was winning…

but, Abel got confused

about where the finish line was…

He stopped running too early.  

He was still meters away

from the finish line.

As Ivan ran up to him,

 he saw the error,

and could easily have raced past

 and claimed first place.

He didn’t.

He ran right up to Abel Mutai

and pointed to the finish line.

 

He stayed behind Abel

until the race had been won.

Ivan claimed second and was

 immensely proud of his efforts.

Ivan later said:

“I didn’t deserve to win it”.

He explained:

“He was the rightful winner.

He created a gap that I couldn’t

 have closed if he hadn’t made a mistake.”

Because the two men had

little common language between them,

Abel’s thanks were quite simple

in words,

but heartfelt in meaning.

Ivan hopes that his decision

to let fairness

overcome the need for winning

might help children everywhere

to see what is really important.

Although Ivan came second…

it’s probably the best second place

 he could ever take.

Champion.

Ivan’s facebook page



A Cut Above

Guy Henry

Several months ago,

my young nephew met a man.

He met Dr Guy Henry.

Lucky!

Dr Guy Henry saved his life.

He cut my nephew open

– twice!

 

 

The second time,

he removed a chunk of cancer cells

from my nephew’s tiny body

 and then, carefully and neatly,

sewed him back together.

What an amazing job he has!

What an incredible thing he does!

Dr Guy Henry is a

specialist Paediatric Surgeon.

He’s been doing this

for over ten years.

I’ve never met Dr Guy Henry,

but I will always be grateful

for what he did…

and how well he did it.

My nephew’s scar is almost healed.

It’s almost perfectly straight.

 

Maybe, in a few years,

we might have trouble

even seeing the scar.

But, each time the sun shines

 the right way

and a glint of scar shines at me,

 I will send a quiet

“thank you”

to Dr Guy Henry.

Apparently, he loves

rugby and fishing –

but rarely has any luck

catching a fish.

I hope he catches

the biggest fish next time

 he drops a line in!   

Read more about him here.

 

Problem Solved?

Bake Cookies Day

It’s difficult to ignore this.

Obviously, it is a

very special day

and requires absolute following

 and respect.

(I will not label today

as a Crazy Day!)

There is one problem!

I will be at work…

Therefore…

someone

may need to celebrate

this day for me…

I’m just saying.

There's a House With a Roof

Roof Over Your Head Day

Today is a day for appreciating

what you have, r

ather than looking around you

 and wishing for more.

I think living in rural Thailand

as a teenager has helped me

to know how lucky I am.

I’ve seen people living in boxes…

 in homes built from cardboard,

scrap metal and pieces of board.

 I’ve talked and played with kids,

living in slums,

and been surprised by their smiles.

I’ve seen people

huddled against vents,

 in the snow,

trying to stay warm

on wet pavements.

Now, years and years later,

I hear the wind whistling

around my house,

beating at the windows

and fighting against the

branches of the trees…

and I think I’m lucky.

When the rain is beating down

and I’m rugged up inside,

warm and dry,

I often imagine how awful

it would be to be sleeping outside.

(Writing this, I realise

I should probably do more

 to try to help…)

on any given night in Australia,

 105,000 people

are sleeping outside,

fighting the elements.

 Nearly half of this number

is made up of people

under the age of 25.

Most of these people

fall in the category of

secondary homelessness,

which means they move

from shelter to shelter to shelter

 to boarding home to shelter…

Imagine having to carry

everything you own…

never knowing whether you’d be

 warm enough at night or

whether you’d be in a bed…

imagine finding a shower

you could use,

in order to clean yourself…

and then, there’s food.

Without money,

where does it come from?

 How do you cook it

without a home?

Today is Roof Over Your Head Day.

It’s the day to be

ever so grateful to be

lucky enough

to have the things you need.

(It might even be a good day

 to clean out the cupboards

and donate

your unwanted stuff

to charities…

or, you could donate money

to one of the many charities

 which help get people

 back on their feet.)

Ditch the Stuff

Use Less Stuff Day

I like this day!

I use very little “stuff”.

I don’t like cleaning-

so I don’t use

a lot of cleaning “stuff”.

I don’t like shopping,

so I don’t often go out

 and just buy “stuff”.

I don’t buy a lot of food “stuff”…

I think I celebrate this day

most days of the year!

 Coming up to the festive season,

people run around…

fighting for car parks

and jostling their way

through over-crowded shopping centres,

to buy “stuff”.

The stuff is then wrapped

in more stuff

and handed to different people.

 Often, the people

getting the stuff

don’t really like the stuff –

 or want the stuff –

and the stuff is thrown away.

This is the time

When our recycling bins

 are overflowing with stuff

and our rubbish bins

spill over with stuff.

This year, Use Less Stuff Day

might help us all prepare

to collect less stuff,

collect less packaging

with our stuff,

to recycle and reuse

more efficiently and to have

 less stuff to clean

from our homes in 2012.

Use Less Stuff today!

Truck Convoy

Almost 700 motorbikes…

Almost 700 trucks…

crowds of kids

and a family fun day…

all to raise money for Camp Quality

and kids with cancer

in the Illawarra.

The Truck Convoy is impressive.

You can’t help but feel

the love and generosity

of thousands of people,

as they line the streets

and cheer as truck after truck

after truck rolls through the streets.

 Horns blast, sirens shriek

and people wave.

This is the 8^th i98 Convoy.

Since the convoys began,

almost 2.18 million dollars

have been raised.

This year, on November 18^th,

the trucks will move

through the streets again.

Rehearsals have taken place,

so volunteers know

how to park the (almost)

700 trucks at Croome Road.

Bands will play, people will sing…

food and drink will be sold

and money

will be thrown into buckets.

People come all the way

from Queensland

to enter the convoy!

Each truck pays

to enter the convoy.

The truck which pays the

highest amount

will lead the convoy.

This will be decided very soon.

Trucks are currently bidding

at $1800…

A very clever idea,

formed by some locals,

is to enter a People’s Truck…

a truck for the people.

Anyone can pay

to have their name,

business name, logo or website

 put on the truck.

Last year, adding names

 lead to a donation

of over $43,000!

These will stay on the truck

 until the 2013 convoy.

As the truck moves around NSW

 and around the other states,

businesses will be advertised…

the People’s Truck

is sure a wonderful sight –

with lists and lists and lists

of names printed on the sides.

I know some names

on the truck this year.

I’ve had a chance to learn

 a little more about

the truck “owners”.

I’m proud of their creativity

and the incredible money

they will raise again this year.

This Sunday,

bring a hat and a drink.

Bring every coin

from behind the lounge,

the floor of the car

or from your dad’s little stash…

 bring a cheering voice

(and maybe, some earplugs!).

 Bring a smile and watch

as the trucks roll by,

each one expressing

their generosity and love

for kids with cancer.

 (I’m not sure what

Crazy Day today is,

but it is Convoy Week -

and that’s sure special!)