Sunday, November 28, 2010

The first patch

I realized I could start my patchwork project and stop waiting for the whole thing to come together if I just did a random act of kindness today. I could just make the first patch and stop waiting to figure out how to put it all together. No mission statements or grant proposals. Just walk out the door and make the first patch.

My mom said she was going to be raking and bagging pine straw this morning when I called her. Mom has bone spurs in her cervical spine and hip and though she is the only 57-year-old surfing on 23rd street every weekend of the summer there was no way she would make it through her front yard without feeling pain the next few days. I told her I would come over and help. I think she thought I needed to talk about something.

I went, we raked, we bagged, we climbed ladders and grabbed pine straw from gutters, and I left. I hopped in the car, facebooked that I helped my mom rake and bag her yard and went home. The first patch was done.

I'm going to continue making the "patches" and facebooking and blogging about it. Even if you do not post on this blog, please fb or twitter something when it falls in to the patchwork project. Oprah, TED talks, Good Morning Amercia... I hope the big media dials turn their noses towards this and it becomes a large movement improving Communities and their internal relationships- one patch at a time.