Every year when the calendar turns to November, I can feel the sadness taking over. It’s this slow march to the anniversary of Nora’s death – the last day I heard her voice, kissed her face, and felt her arms hugging me. Most of the year I’m able to keep the painful memories tucked away, but this time of year it’s impossible. November 22nd marks the 6th anniversary since we had to say goodbye.

Thomas and I tried to think of a way to balance out the sadness. We thought about how Nora loved to share anything that was making her happy and always wanted to help someone who was feeling sad. On one of her last doctor’s visits, she got a bunch of cool stickers. She kept trying to give some away to the x-ray tech and the nurses because she wanted them to be happy too. When she would hear a baby crying in the hospital, she would ask me to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to comfort them, because that is what comforted her. Nora had one of the kindest hearts I’ve ever known.

In honor of Nora, Thomas and I are going to practice radical kindness on November 22nd. First, Nora’s Fund is making a donation to Coach Art. CoachArt’s mission is to create a transformative arts and athletics community for families impacted by childhood chronic illness. They match volunteer coaches with students who are isolated by their chronic illnesses for one-on-one or group lessons in arts and athletics.

Nora would have loved the feeling of “normal” activities like art or soccer lessons. We are excited to support CoachArt in helping families impacted by childhood chronic illness feel a little more connected. If you also want to donate, you can do so here.

We will also go to one of our favorite spots – Nora’s bench in Golden Gate Park – and spend time reflecting on the wonderful gift that Nora was to us. And we will join Magnus and Henrik in sending postcards to family and friends to thank them for being in our lives.

We invite you to join us in honoring Nora and practicing kindness on November 22nd. You can take pictures and post them on Instagram and our Facebook Page and tag them with #kindnessfornora and @norasfund on Twitter.

Or you can email us your stories and pictures and we will share them on our website. If you need ideas, you can visit Make Kindness the Norm for inspiration. Thank you for all of your love and support over the years.

It would make us so happy to see people sharing love and kindness in honor of Nora!