happy new year!
my apologies for the gap in posts. i’ve been pretty busy, and then last weekend my life changed drastically. you see, since the boyfriend moved in last spring we’ve been sleeping on his old ikea bed. don’t get me wrong, i heart ikea, but their beds suck. i repeat. SUCK. the aches and pains i’ve suffered from that bed made me feel like i was 90. some days i’d wake up and need him to push me out of bed because it felt like my back had siezed up and i couldn’t move an inch. no joke. back at the beginning of december we ordered a new bed. a new fancy pillow-top hotel grade bed. it arrived on saturday and i’ve done my best to not leave it if i can help it. it’s divine! the only down side? waking up for work each morning has become even more of a challenge, let me tell you.
anyway, during my week of laziness, i’ve been meaning to take part in this week’s daily post photo challenge. this week’s theme is..
Share a picture which means RESOLVED to you!
hmm. i wondered how i could spin that to mean something to my life? then i remembered my personal challenge for 2013. my sister’s best friend, anna, has been running a yearly paying-it-forward event and i decided that i wanted to take part, even if in a small way.
basically, for the past 3 years, anna has organised a hot lunch that she serves alongside friendly volunteers in vancouver’s downtown east side (dtes). if you’re not familiar with vancouver, the dtes is one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods and is often referred to as ‘canada’s poorest postal code’. in addition to issues with drug use and crime, the area is also known for its high level of homelessness. during the cold winter months, it’s especially hard for those struggling (for whatever reason; financial, drug or mental health related..) to cope.
i asked anna to share with me a bit about her yearly event..
” paying it forward was started by me in 2010. i just woke up one morning and said that i needed to do this. it was a very strong feeling that i woke up with, and the first year was planned and organized in about 2 weeks! it’s a way to give back the community.. i don’t always have the monetary means to help, but i do have the time. i am grateful for what i have in my life, and i wanted to give back. these people need help, especially during the cold, wet winter nights!!
Anna is one of the most selfless and inspiring people I have the pleasure of knowing. Not only did she start this yearly event out of the kindness of her heart, she also does other volunteering with The Variety Club which she has been doing for many years. She puts others ahead of herself regularly without question, and even has an amazing husband Kevin who offers up his pool table room for many months out of the year for storage of blankets, clothes, and toiletries for the Paying it Forward event. I am so lucky to have her in my life, and heart. Thanks Marla for blogging about her cause, and hopefully inspiring others to give back in some way to others less fortunate. No matter how bad our day is, there is always someone who is in a worse place than we are. Your scarves are going to keep some very lovely people warm. love ur big little sis x