How my little girl plans to make sad people happy
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate,
You’ve been collecting stickers, Izzy. All kinds. Big and small. Elaborate fuzzy glow in the dark stickers and simple stars.
You spend hours putting them in books.
Yesterday afternoon you told us why.
“I started a sticker club,” you said as we munched on tortilla chips in our kitchen.
“That’s cool, baby. What happens at sticker club?”
It’s not unusual for you to start things. You started a church at 3rd grade recess. You talk about “God and Jesus and stuff.”
“We’re collecting stickers,” you said. You opened your school binder to show me dozens of sheets of stickers.
“Wow, are those all yours?”
“Not really. Kids give them to me. I ask them for them.”
“Why are you taking kids stickers, Izzy?,” I asked.
“I’m making sticker books. I’m going to give them away to people who are sad,” you said. “One page for every person I meet who is sad. When I get 1000 I’ll give it to a hospital.”
You’ve always been the kid who takes care of others.
Since Kindergarten it’s who your teachers have told us you are: She’s such a sweet heart. She takes care of the other kids and they all want to be around her.
You volunteer to help the special needs children at your school. You read to kids who can’t read. You include everyone and see that the other kids accept one another.
“I think that’s great, baby.” I said. “Thank you for being such a good kid, Izzy.”
“I like being nice,” you said. “There’s a girl who no one plays with at school.”
“Yeah?” I said.
“Yeah, she gets picked on. She has since kindergarten. It’s because of the way she looks she says. It makes her sad,” you said. “I talked to her today and asked her to play. I gave her a sticker page. She said I make her feel happy.”
Izzy, you make me feel happy too. You have since I first saw you on March 17th, 2004 at 5:15am, as the sun rose. I’ll have to tell you another time why you told us you were born at sun rise.
There’s something special about you, sweet Izzy. There’s something special about your simple plan to make kids smile just by giving them stickers.
You will change the world. I guess you already are.
I love you,
– Daddy
TRAINING:
I’m in my offseason now, so I’m not doing much. I took 2 weeks off. This week I’ve lifted weights twice. It’s been awhile, so I’m sore!
I wish she’d brought some of those sticker pages to the Jimmy Buffet concert–I noticed a couple people who could’ve used them.
oh yes. One “lost” gentleman in particular.
What a sweetie. I love her heart. I’m reading the book, “Growing Grateful Kids: Teaching Them to Appreciate an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Places.” One thing the author says is “The key to realize that as a parent you cannot impart what you do not possess.” It sounds as though you and your wife have imparted Izzy’s gift of compassion through your examples.
Thanks Jody. I hope so. She pushes us through her actions though. We want to be better, because she is. Very grateful for her.
I just wanted to stop by and say that I love reading your letters. Thanks for sharing them. It makes me feel like it’s ok just to be me. I got hooked on your blog when I came across your post on leading a blind athlete (my sons and I have a rare genetic condition but adore triathlons). I pray that God blesses your family as much as y’all bless others!
Thank you so much for the kind words! It means a lot to me that others are finding value in the letters I’m writing.