Happy Birthday, Eleanor!

As many of you probably remember, my cousin's daughter, Eleanor, passed away in October. Today is her birthday. As the day has approached, the kids and I have been trying to think of a way we could honor her memory, and last night her dad posted on Facebook that her name means "God is Light." That gave us a great idea!

We decided to make cookies shaped like a star, and frosted with bright yellow frosting to symbolize light. Then we put them in bags and tied them up with a pink ribbon (Eleanor's favorite color). We put a little note on them, so that people would understand what we were doing, and not assume we were trying to sell them. (There were some people who thought that, anyway. This is New York City, after all!)

Then, as we went throughout our day today, we found people to give them to. We gave them to people we passed on the sidewalk, people who sat by us on the bus and the subway, people at the store, and people at the kids' school. We also gave some to a friend of mine who shares a birthday with Eleanor!

Handing things to strangers was way out of my comfort zone, and at times felt awkward--especially when the recipient did not speak English, but I am so glad we did it. The kids were excited to share, and the people we shared with were very receptive and very kind. One man even started to tear up as he read the note, and promised to pray for Eleanor's family as he thanked us for the cookie. It was a great reminder to pay attention to the people around us--people that we would not usually notice.

I know that the kids and I felt God's light today, and I hope that the people who received our gift also felt God's light. We are grateful for the Cummings family, and the chance to remember our sweet cousin. We love you, Eleanor! Happy birthday!