My next door neighbor’s 11 year old son just recently passed away from leukemia. They had been dealing with it for about 2 years that we knew of. He was a friendly boy, always waving to us as we worked in the yard or pulled drove by in the car.
We tried to be as useful as possible, offering meals and buying inexpensive toys for the boy and the other children to keep them occupied as he was restricted to their home for the last few months or so.
About 1 week after his funeral a letter came from the leukemia & Lymphoma Society asking me if I wanted to raise money for research in my neighborhood. What a miracle I thought.
So I ordered the package and set out to raise funds. I was a little nervous at first because there were a couple of our neighbors that I hadn't met yet. But this fund raiser ended up being the perfect tool to meet them. They were very open to the idea and saddened by the news of the young boy’s death. It was a great tribute to him that all of our neighbors felt his loss together.
We ended up raising about $40.00 per household and I was very proud to send the package back to the society with our neighbors son's name included.
To every gray cloud there truly is a silver lining. I learned that sometimes it's not our perception that makes the silver lining visible but our actions that put the silver lining there.
sonshine wrote: Your kindess made me both smile and almost cry too, as our daughter passed away in 2003 of diabetes complications, so I know what it is to lose a child. Bless you for being the blessing to your neighborhood and this family!
