The act of kindness described here was inspired by the deep love my family has for each other. As my mother says, kindness begets kindness.

In the days after my dad passed, many family members reached out to their support communities to share the news. I simply did not have the strength to put into words, both the depth of my sadness and the bounty of gratitude I felt in the wake of the time we spent together caring for him in the final months. However, in this era of social media tagging, news spread to my community through the open hearted postings of my family. Through the stories of my dad’s life, and the time we spent by his side and caring for each other, my work family was moved to gift our family a magnolia tree to be planted in memory of my dad. The memorial plaque reads a “planted to celebrate a life well lived”. Indeed it was, my dad lived his life for others, and this is what he taught us to do. Even though no one I work with knew my dad, they were able to feel the essence of his spirit through their interactions with me and the heartfelt remembrances from my family. My hope is that the love will be spread far and wide with a generosity of spirit that my dad had in abundance. #thecowboydanway