"A beautiful and artistic soul,
Grace was truly a gift from God
and represented all that is good in this world"
~Obituary of Grace McDonnell, Newtown Bee
Last night, President Obama paused during his press conference to acknowledge Grace McDonnell's parents - Chris and Lynn - with these words:
"She dreamed of becoming a painter. And so just before I left, Chris, her father, gave me one of her paintings, and I hung it in my private study just off the Oval Office. And every time I look at that painting, I think about Grace. And I think about the life that she lived and the life that lay ahead of her, and most of all, I think about how, when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now — for Grace. For the 25 other innocent children and devoted educators who had so much left to give."
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| Courtesy of CNN.com |
Grace, from all accounts, was a child full of happiness and joy. She loved drawing, the beach and school.
In the days after the horrific acts at sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT - many of us were jolted into action with the 26 Acts of Kindness Movement inspired by Ann Curry. Thirty-four days later is the momentum still there? Have you followed through with your 26 Acts of Kindness? If so, are you going to start the process of over again?
The key, in my opinion, to keeping the memory of Grace and her schoolmates and teachers alive is to continue acting, to continue giving back and to continue having a positive presence in our communities.
When I read the articles on Grace - I'm struck by how fitting her name seems to be with her spirit and the legacy that she leaves behind. Her last goodbye to her mother was a blown kiss as her bus departed that Friday morning for school. Her father had these words, that we all can and should apply to our daily lives, to share about Grace:
“[Grace] taught us you have to live for the future, happiness and peace" and “not to divert your energy to hate and anger.”
In honor of Grace's life - one characterized with love and a passion for drawing, I encourage you to draw a picture to give to a child (your own or one close to you) today. So often we cherish the pictures that our little ones create for us, imagine their surprise when we share a piece of ourselves with them the same way.
This post is brought to you as part of my involvement with The Global Team of 200 - a highly specialized group of Mom Bloggers for Social Good members who focus on maternal health, children, hunger, and women and girls. Many of us have committed to keeping the awareness on the #26Acts of Kindness and the victims of the Newtown tragedy. If you're a blogger and have written a post on either (or both), we'd love for you to link up with us below.
This post is brought to you as part of my involvement with The Global Team of 200 - a highly specialized group of Mom Bloggers for Social Good members who focus on maternal health, children, hunger, and women and girls. Many of us have committed to keeping the awareness on the #26Acts of Kindness and the victims of the Newtown tragedy. If you're a blogger and have written a post on either (or both), we'd love for you to link up with us below.
Thanks for the beautiful idea of kindness :)
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome Lisa!
DeleteWhat a beautiful post! Its so sad the loss of all those poor people. I wish we lived in a world where kindest and respect still mattered. It would be wonderful if people showed an act of kindness everyday. Gr8 post!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely would be great if more people made acts of kindness a habit and not just a movement. Hoping that this is what the #26Acts leads to!
DeleteMy heart just breaks when I think of those dear children. Thanks for keeping their memory alive and by giving the victims power through #26Acts.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad, Dede! Movements like this is a way to not give the perpetrator of these horrific acts glory and to give honor and purpose to the victims' lives.
DeleteIf we set aside all the politics and all the arguments about who told who what when, in the end this story is about the loss of life in a cruel and senseless way. Perhaps the best way to deal with it is to do acts of kindness and share them with others so that when what goes around comes around, there is some goodness on the way.
ReplyDeleteVery well put, Janeane! Thank you so much for chiming in!
DeleteThis post is very powerful. I am going to do as you suggest and give my niece and nephew a picture that I have drawn to see their reaction. I have never thought of that!
ReplyDeleteYay :) Would love to know their reaction!
DeleteA beautiful post and a great quote...
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI love the idea of making a picture for our little ones. The 26Acts is so powerful.
ReplyDeleteIt is! Glad you like the idea. Have a fantastic weekend, Samantha!
DeleteSuch a beautiful post & what a touching story. I will be drawing something for my boys today!!
ReplyDeleteLovely Jennifer! I hope they enjoyed it!
DeleteI've been following some of the memorial Facebook pages set up by the victim's families.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe how strong they are in the midst of this.
Their strength is absolutely unbelievable to me, too! It's amazing how the families are focused on turning this tragedy into something awesome in memory of their precious little ones.
DeleteWhat a great idea! My girls go through reams of paper drawing masterpieces for others. As they draw this weekend, I will join them and create my own masterpiece for each of them. Thanks for a great way to connect with my children.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome Tracy!
DeleteHow my I am crying . What a sweet darling little girl. I watched over here in the uk of the events and I so felt for all those poor people who lost loved ones. It was so sad.Thank you for sharing this wonderful post
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to reflect on their lives and legacy!
DeleteI actually was a recipient of an #26Acts of kindness, actually my 5 year-old son was. One day a package from Amazon with a wish list item for my son came to the doorstep with a note saying " in honor of Daniel Barden." I was shocked and brought the tears. We immediately passed on the favor to another child in Daniel's name.
ReplyDeleteHow awesome for you and your son!
DeleteBeautiful post. Have heard about the incident here over in Singapore and it was really shocking. Glad to hear about this effort of Kindness.
ReplyDeleteThank you for chiming in with your kind words!
DeleteThis post inspired me to go dig out the art supplies and paint pictures with my boys. I hardly ever paint with them but I even opened up the brand new paints I bought for some other purpose and we all had a good time. Of course, they painted 8 pictures between them while I painted my one of the two of them.
ReplyDeleteHow sweet!!! I'm sure they appreciated the time spent!
DeleteBeautiful posts. I hadn't heard of the 26 acts of kindness movement stemming from this tragic incident but now that I know, I'm going to put together my list of things I can do. Such a tragic ending to such beautiful lives; my heart breaks.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful! Glad I was able to provide the information and inspiration!
DeleteVery touching post. I often draw pictures with and for my son. They're horrible pictures, mind you, as I have zero artistic talent, but it's still something we do together. I think the best way to remember the children of Sandy Hook (and victims of any tragedy) is to be kind every day. I love the 26 acts of kindness idea, but I want to strive to promote kindness on a daily basis too. It takes so little energy to be kind, and it really goes a long way.
ReplyDeleteSo true! I think the movement was a way to motivate those that don't reflect on doing acts of kindness on a regular basis. Sometimes it takes a tragedy like this to spur those that would normally not act and change their ways of thinking and actions.
DeleteThanks for sharing this post and remember this beautiful girl. Its sad because in these tragic times I wonder if we will ever have to deal with something this tragic again.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard about the #26 acts of kindness movement. Thanks for making us aware. This tragedy is heartbreaking, but showing kindness to others is a way to help us take the focus off of fear and look to the future.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! I love that perspective - "taking the focus off of the fear and looking to the future"! Thanks so much for sharing. My hopes are that the conversations that are being held are less political and more about making a true change in the lives of those impacted. As a whole, our communities need to be more aware and diligent to protect one another.
DeleteLOVELY, just lovely.....
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteThank you for sharing your heart and for giving us a peek into this little one's life.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tribute and reminder we should be living our lives based on acts of kindness
ReplyDeletebeautiful post and constant reminder a month later to try to remember the victims of this horrible tragedy. it also reminds that I am slacking on my #26ACts of kindness efforts.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I very much enjoyed it and it was touching.
ReplyDeletePeace & Light
Often times when tragedy strikes, we are jolted out of our sleep into the real meaning of life - Love and kindness. Many people went into action, I crocheted hats, others like you blogged about it and joined the Acts of Kindness movement.
ReplyDeleteHow many people are still active in spreading kindness? I like to believe more than I see. Tragedy reminds of the finite-ness of our lives doesn't it?
I'm glad you are continuing, I think tragedies need to be continually in our face to remind us to cherish each day, each person, each moment.
I'll have to look into #26Acts Thanks
You're very welcome Sara! Thank you for your words of reflection. So true that tragedy will cause us to be reactive. It makes me wonder if we were more proactive how many of these senseless tragedies could be avoided. Movements like #26Acts can be used to bring awareness and inspiration to watch out for our neighbors. If we see them struggling, lend a hand. It seems many are so quick to donate across the country or world, but there are people right in their backyards that desperately need assistance.
DeleteJust seeing her sweet face is touching enough. Thank you for the beautiful post. Often times, we hear the names and see the faces of victims of senseless crimes, but we don't really 'connect' with who the person was, we just identify with how unnecessary the loss of life is. Posts like this are needed to bring back the level of compassion that is deserved.
ReplyDeleteSo glad this was able to provide a way to truly connect.
DeleteWhat happened at Sandy Hook was beyond traumatic, and seeing the faces of those that perished makes it all too real. Grace sounded like an incredibly sweet girl, one full of life and happiness. I hope their legacy lives on.
ReplyDeletei'm just sad that it took something so tragic to happen to put things in motion...were the prior events that took lives too early not enough? such beautiful lives taken before their time ...
ReplyDeleteI still cannot believe something like this happened. What is wrong with people these days? It just doesn't make sense. It makes me so sad to think about what has happened.
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard for me to look at the pictures of the children that were lost at Sandy Hook. My daughter is a first grader, so I know first hand how innocent they are at that age. It's so wonderful of you to keep their memories going!
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I have heard of the 26 acts of kindness. It is such a lovely idea. I also love the idea of drawing a picture for my daughter. I have to admit that I have tried to completely block out this incident. I am a public school teacher at a school that experienced close to a very similar incident. The shooter killed his parents and then fled. Once picked up by the police he admitted that his next intended target was supposed to be the school. The shooter was one of my ex-students. I have also avoided the media coverage of this event specifically because of Grace McDonnell. My oldest daughter is named Grace and they are both the same age. My daughter is an artist. It was all just to close to home. Thank you for this lovely post. I will definitely be reading more about your Global Team of 200. You sound like my kind of people!
ReplyDeleteMany blessings to you Carrie! I can only imagine the thoughts and emotions you experienced throughout this ordeal when there are so many parallels in your own personal life. It definitely makes you stop and reflect.
DeleteThis is so great, what a fantastic idea. Thank you for sharing this with us, I will draw a picture for my boys.
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful story. I'd love for you to share this at Inspire Me Monday, Michelle. This is the first time I've heard of this project!
ReplyDeleteMost definitely, Ramona!!!
Delete