Considering my mandate for this whole blog thing was one of positivity, hope and happiness, I’m not entirely sure if I’m meeting that brief. Topics so far have included grief, Cancer, mental health and heartbreak. Perhaps not the cheeriest of subjects. So as I like to be true to my word, I thought I’d share probably the most positive, hopeful and happy thing that has ever happened to me, which happened Saturday just gone.
You know how I’m shaving my hair off to raise money for Macmillan? Well D-day is Friday 30th September. Shit’s about to get very real. I’ve been hustling for donations and I’ve done amazingly well, due mostly to the generosity of friends and colleagues. My sister shared my Just Giving page on Facebook in the hope that people might be compelled to donate. A few of my friends have very kindly shared the link on Facebook and to be fair it’s not generated much interest. But why should it? People often get asked for sponsorship for various worthy charities and it’s unlikely that people would buy into a stranger doing something for charity. Or so I thought.
I get an email from Just Giving telling me that someone has sponsored me £65. Holy shit balls I think. Who would donate so much and such a specific amount? So I take a look and see that it’s someone called Daisy. Who the fuck is Daisy? I message a few people who have shared the link. No joy. I message my sister. After a bit of back and forth it turns out that Daisy is the daughter of one of my sister’s friends. She saw the link, read my story and wanted to donate. I’ve never met Daisy, I don’t know her from Adam. The fact that she wanted to support what I’m doing and help other people in the process means so much to me. What’s most astonishing is that Daisy is 15 years old. She works on Saturdays in a hair salon and so she understands how important people’s hair is to them. £65 takes her a whole month to earn.
I’m not gonna lie, I lost my shit when I found this out. I bawled for ages. I’m just totally blown away by this young girl. I emailed her and thanked her so much for what she did. The most articulate and touching response came back. “I cannot imagine losing my Mum and to shave all your hair in memory of her is an incredibly brave act. I wanted to donate enough to ensure that you reached your target….knowing that I helped someone accomplish their goal is worth every penny.”
When I was 15 I wasn’t a bad kid but I certainly wouldn’t have given a shit about some random shaving her hair off for charity. I most definitely wouldn’t have sponsored such a huge amount. What an absolute legend Daisy is. I was overwhelmed by emotion in the best possible way because Daisy is clearly the kind of person my Mum was. Kind, generous, thoughtful and inspiring. It kinda seemed fitting that this is the person who would make such an impact on me and what I’m doing at this time.
We talked today at work about energy. About how putting out positivity will inspire others and that energy gets passed around and comes back to you. I’ve never believed that more, ever since deciding to do this act to raise money for Macmillan. Something bad happened to me. My Mum died and it was shit. Then my friend’s Mum got the diagnosis. Awful things that have driven me to do something positive by raising money that will help an incredible organisation to support many other families. At the same time as doing this (essentially to benefit strangers), I’ve had so many messages of support and love from people I know as well as from this amazing human who doesn’t know me at all. It’s made my heart full. It goes to show that what goes around really does come around. That saying is normally said as a warning but actually it should be a mantra to encourage us all to perform acts of kindness.
Do something today. Be a Daisy.
