Reverse Lent: Week 1

The first week of Reverse Lent is coming to an end and I am already behind. I knew when I set this goal that it would be challenging, but I believed I was up for the challenge. Unfortunately, I didn't anticipate how busy I would be or the sudden onset of my seasonal allergies. Apparently it wasn't just the weather that missed the memo it is still winter. Anyways, I am not giving up on my Reverse Lent, but I just don't have a blanket to share with my readers today. I was feeling down today that the blanket wasn't finished, but I ended up reading my friend's blog that followed her own lent journey and felt inspired. Her blog features a new entry for each day of lent and reflects on her day, including the new lessons she has learned about God. As I read her posts today I thought about the things I have learned as I worked on my own lent journey.

 First, a little about the blanket I am working on as this week ends. I used a single crochet stitch to crochet the blanket in Red Heart Super Saver yarn in Grey Heather. The blanket is a little over half way done and when finished will be accented with Red Heart Super Saver yarn in Turqua. The blanket will be embellished with Turqua roses. The finished blanket will be simple, but will make a sweet gift for any foster child. 

 I mentioned earlier that I have been busy this week and it has been difficult to maintain steady work on the baby blanket, this hasn't been made any easier with the increased fatigue associated with allergies. The point of this is not to complain, but to point out how easy it would be to quit. It doesn't matter the extent of our problems, whether they are little or big, but how we choose to respond to our problems. The friend, whose blog I was reading, has faced so many challenges these last few years, and yet has never given up. She has faced tragedy and loss, but never once quit. She even had the strength to inspire others who were hurting along the way. I have watched how her family has handled their challenges and been inspired to follow her lead. 

This week I choose to face my challenges with my head held high, to persevere, and to not allow my challenges to weigh me down. As I finish the first blanket and move onto the next, while still maintaining my other responsibilities, I am going to do so with a smile on my face. Not because there won't be challenges, but because I know that I am blessed. 

Reverse Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday and for protestants worldwide it is the start of Lent. For those who don't know, Lent is traditionally a religious observance that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday (approximately 6 weeks). Lent is a season of prayer, fasting, and simple living, but has evolved to the removal of an unneeded item from your life (i.e. giving up chocolate or coffee). Last year I was introduced to Reverse Lent. In Reverse Lent, the person does something charitable during the 40 days of Lent. Reverse Lent might be 40 days of helping a different person or organization every day or 40 days of working to help a single person or organization.

I really enjoyed Reverse Lent last year and spent 40 days working on a baby blanket that I donated to Oliviana's Closet. Oliviana's Closet is an organization that helps single moms by providing them with new and gently used baby items. This year I am going to challenge myself and try to finish a blanket a week. These blankets will then be included in care packages for foster children. Each care package or "comfort kits" will include essentials for the child as well as extras that will provide comfort to a scared child and be packaged in tote bags. For those who don't know most children enter into foster care with very few personal items and the items they do have are carried in garage bags. Comfort kits that provide them with additional items, as well as nice bag to carry the items in, are beneficial to the adjustment these children will inevitably have to make.

BooBear's Love Notes

"No one has ever become poor by giving." - Anne Frank

One of the greatest gifts we can give to children is giving them a heart willing to give freely and we give this gift to them through freely giving ourselves. Years ago I envisioned creating "love notes" for children in children's hospitals, but was never able to fully realize this vision due to several complications. The vision for these "love notes" included a note and themed art activities for children of various ages. One of the complications was how to package these "love notes", but recently I came across a perfect solution 6" x 9" Manila envelopes and finished making the "love notes" using the supplies I had purchased years ago. It was a wonderful feeling to complete these "love notes". However, it posed another complication: would the hospital administration allow these particular donations. Previously I had received mixed responses as to what the hospitals would accept, but recently I received an email from a child life specialist accepting the donations. I look forward to donating these "love notes" to the children's hospital. 

A lot of people I encounter are not familiar with the field of child life and I wasn't familiar with it myself until a few years ago when I heard about it while I was finishing my bachelors degree. Child life specialists are pediatric health care professionals who work with children and their families in hospitals, as well as other settings, to help them cope with the challenges of hospitalization, illness, and disability (Wikipedia). Children are provided with age-appropriate preparation for medial procedures, pain management, and coping strategies through play and self-expression activities. Child life specialists also provide information, support, and guidance to parents, siblings, and other family members. The field of child life is a wonderful addition to the medical community. It is also the field I am preparing to enter into this year. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into a wonderful child life graduate program at the beginning of this year and look forward to being a certified child life specialist. 

Children, who are confined to a hospital for prolonged periods of time, experience changes in their "normal" routine and this can cause depression in these children. One way to combat depression is to receive visitors and letters from people who care about them. This is why I decided to create BooBear's Love Notes and send "love notes" to children in the children's hospital. The note was a way of telling the children they were loved while the activities included in the envelope were meant to provide the children with an activity when they were unable to leave their beds. Each envelope contains post cards, velvet magnets to colors, foam activities, and crayons. These items are centered around a theme, such as cowboys or pirates. Most of the items I have used were purchased from the Oriental Trading Company. Their website has several different items in various different themes. I was able to order plenty of supplies without spending a fortune.

I have pictured the "love notes" I have made thus far and am working on more "love notes", which I will show in upcoming posts. Are there any projects you have planned to help others? Or ideas for future "love notes"? If so, I would love to read about your projects and ideas in the comments below.