Christmas Day 2014

From Alisha Abrams:

As always, thank you Professor F for remembering to email all of your old students to remind us to be more mindful, kind, and caring during the holiday season by performing a random act of kindness. I appreciate hearing from you every year and I hope Theo's stocking is full of wonderful acts of kindness. 

This year, I kept Theo in my heart as I gave to: a young high school senior who could not afford a class ring, Salvation Army bellringers nearly every time I saw them outside in the cold this season, and also as I gave to a dog rescue to help them pay for food and medical care for the dogs they save. I hope you, Karla, and Lula have an amazing holiday season.

Kind Regards, 

Alisha Abrams

From Grace Hammock:

Hello Professor F!
Merry Christmas and I hope you and your family are enjoying your break. As part of your request for Theo's stocking at the end of the semester I have tried my best to do something nice everyday, even if it's small. I have paid for the person's coffee who's behind me, helped people carry their groceries, and have spent more time with my family than ever this holiday because I have truly realized what the meaning of family is and you helped me do that. Also, I wanted to make sure that my paper about genetically modified children did not offend you in any way. I wish more than anything for your family that you would have been able to see the future of Theo and that he would still be with us today. I can't tell you how inspiring your story is and how much my heart aches for your family. I'll be thinking and have been thinking of you and your family and I hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas, you deserve it. See you next semester.

From Anonymous:

In the Christmas season we tend to have a lot of extra food around. Every year we bag up the extra granola bars, crackers and cookies. On the plastic bag we put inspirational quotes and hand them out whenever we see a homeless person. I know that will only feed them for a short time but we do what we can to help others.

From Anonymous:

My mom has Parkinson’s Disease and I find it very hard to be nice to her and be around her without feeling overwhelmed with sadness. I don’t tell her I love her enough and I try to avoid conversation with her when I’m home from school. I know this is the opposite of what I should be doing at this time but interaction can be difficult with her. I heard about Theo and I thought of a good way to honor him and something good to do to fill his Christmas stocking. I thought about my mother and how she is still alive and healthy and how lucky I am. I called her up and sincerely told her I love her, and no matter what happens I will always love her. That phone call meant a lot to her and it meant a lot to me. I hope you and your family have a good Christmas!

From Colleen O’Brien:

My great grandmother just turned 99 a couple days before Christmas. She lives in a retirement home and doesn’t get a lot of visitors other then my grandma. I thought it would be a good idea to get a couple of band friends together and go over some Christmas music for the retirement home. We did and everybody really enjoyed themselves and it meant a lot for the residents there. At the end of the concert my grandma brought out a cake we made for her while I played happy birthday on my saxophone.  She was overwhelmed with happiness and I’m really glad I did that for her. It’s the little things that you do for others this season that make it special. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!

From Michael Barnes:

HEY Professor F.

I have another act of kindness for the stocking for Theo that I wanted to share. I need to give some background info first though: for the past two years I have done this thing called "Reddit Secret Santa" in which you are randomly matched with someone in the same state as you, or on the other side of the country, or on the side of the world. Sometimes the gift exchange does not go as planned and some people send their gifts but do not receive a gift in return. The website, Reddit Gifts, then asks if you would like to be rematched to send a gift to a person who did not receive a gift. So I decided to sign up for that option because I felt like it was a crappy thing to not receive something for the holiday, especially when the while point of the program is a worldwide gift exchange. On top of all that it just really feels like the right thing to do, you know? To make a stranger’s day just seems right. Anyway, that's my contribution in honor of little Theo.

Hope all is well with you and yours,

Michael B.