One week and one day to go

Next Tuesday, Nov. 4, is Steve's birthday and 46 Acts of Kindness!

You can read more about it here.

If you'd like to leave behind a note with your gift or act of kindness, you can click here for a copy to print. 

And if you're comfortable sharing your act of kindness, please plan to communicate with me on Tuesday. (I'll be teaching during the day, so blogging will begin in the late afternoon.)

You can:
Email me at tyradamm@gmail.com
Text me at 972-489-4344
Post on our Facebook page

We can't wait for the big day!

Save the date: Nov. 4

Mark your calendars for one of the best days of the year: Tuesday, Nov. 4!

For the fourth year in a row, we will be celebrating Steve's birthday by sharing acts of kindness. Because Steve was born 46 years ago, we're working toward 46 acts of kindness, but we know from past experience that this number will multiply throughout the day. Our stretch goal is 460 acts of kindness in one day in memory of Steve!

What have kind folks done in previous years? This list is extensive. Here are a few ideas:

• Donate to MD Anderson
• Bake and deliver cupcakes to neighbors
• Pay for coffee for the people behind you
• Give a generous tip
• Donate books
• Buy someone's dinner
• Stock some baby-changing tables with diapers
• Deliver flowers to an assisted-living home
• Pick up trash in your neighborhood
• Take treats to a fire station
• Help a neighbor with yard work
• Take hot chocolate to a crossing guard

Cooper, Katie and I are hatching our own plans, and we can't wait to share in the joy of the day with you all!

Inheritance

At dinner last night, Katie and I were telling Cooper about mohair goats. Did you know that half of the world's mohair supply comes from goats in and around the Texas Hill Country? (Katie and I learned this together earlier in the day, during social studies instruction. Six weeks in, and I have to say I love having Katie in my class. Even when she's a little too chatty.)

All three of us wanted to see what a mohair goat looks like. So I searched online and found the most adorable photos. 

So fuzzy!

We decided that we want -- no, we need -- a mohair goat.

Then we wondered what one might look like after shorn.

That's when Cooper exhibited the most Steve Damm-like laugh I've seen since Steve Damm last laughed.

Coop rocked back and forth. Very little sound came from his body. His face turned bright red. He could barely breathe. He was totally tickled. It was completely contagious.

***

Katie on Saturday at Frisco City Hall

Katie performs "The Magic Porridge Pot."

Last weekend was the big Lone Star Storytelling Festival. For the second year in a row, Katie was one of the student tellers. Over the past few months, she has practiced at the library under the direction of storytelling coaches and performed at community events. 

On Friday, she performed her tale, "The Magic Porridge Pot," in front of 500 people at our school's morning assembly. And on Saturday, she told her story again, this time at Frisco City Hall, as part of an opening act before master storyteller Willy Claflin.

There's no way I would be comfortable in front of all those people, acting dramatically, using various voices. Do you know who would have been? Steve Damm. He could charm small groups and large crowds with ease. He loved to entertain. 

***

Cooper and Katie are blessed to have inherited so many fine qualities from their daddy. I'm especially thankful this week for their shared sense of humor, their ability to laugh at themselves, their courageous spirits and their willingness to stretch comfort zones. What fine riches to fuel joyful lives!

Katie and Cooper at Steve's bench, Sept. 21, 2014