Skip to main content

Wish-Granting

Last June I took a mini-van full of seventh grade girls to see The Fault in our Stars at the AMC theater at the Columbia Mall. I gave all of them mini-packets of tissues, just in case. I didn't realize that I would need one for myself.

Around me in the theater the sound of teens crying was actually audible. They cried for young love thwarted by the horror of a disease that cares nothing for the beauty of human existence. But when I cried, quietly, tears sliding down my face in the dark, I cried the tears of a mom. That could be one of my daughters, my heart said to me as I looked at Hazel Grace. What would I do? How could I live if that were one of my children?

I am thinking of that moment today as I write. I am asking you to help out an Oakland Mills family that is living their own version of that story.

From the Oakland Mills is Awesome FB page:

Remember when I said it was a good day to care for your neighbors? And remember that article that said that Columbia is one of the most CARING places to live? Meditate on that a minute and then think of what you can do to help one of our own young people Mai Bird-Walker.

From the Second Chance event page:


Mai, a vivacious 17 yr old senior from Oakland Mills High School, has been diagnosed with follicular carcinoma and with her current insurance being up for renewal this past October the deductible for the new insurance is astronomical! Please help raise money for Mai's cancer support and treatment!

50/50 raffles, 10% of all sales will go to Mai and more!

The Second Chance event is tonight, January 17th, beginning at 5 pm.

If you can't make it, please take a moment to gofundme page and donate. In addition, Mai's mother, Christina Bird-Walker, is selling her original artwork to help the family make ends meet during this financially challenging time.


So there are three different ways you can help: have dinner for a good cause, send a donation, or buy some art. I hope you are able to chip in for this family and their daughter. This could be any one of us. But it isn't. Our children are healthy, and our neighbors need help.

Augustus Waters says, "Apparently, the world is not a wish-granting factory." True. But a community can light a wish-granting fire to warm their neighbors when times get rough, okay?

Okay.



 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

F ³: Who Belongs at the Library?

  One of these things is not like the others One of these things doesn't belong Can you tell which thing is not like the other By the time we finish our song?* Did you guess which thing is not like the others? Did you guess which thing doesn't belong? If you guessed this thing is not like the others Then you're absolutely right.  Our library promotes equity. Our library promotes literacy for adults who have come here from many places. Our library promotes accessibility to materials and opportunities. Our library is hosting multiple Harry Potter themed events?  Tell me this isn’t so. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, has and continues to use the profits from those books to advocate for laws that diminish the rights of trans people. She has and continues to use her fame to influence public opinion to view and treat trans people negatively. In short, Ms. Rowling is using the Harry Potter book series to make transgender people around the world less safe....
1 comment
Read more