Onions.

Today, three years ago, my mother died. The last pictures she had of my son were of his first haircut, on his first birthday. A part of me died that day too.

Instead of dwelling on it, this year I'm posting a story of giving that nearly made me cry.

Link

"This isn't entirely paying it forward, but it's a really sweet story. I work at a small toy store, and Christmas is a crazy crazy time. One little girl, probably 5 years old, and her exceptionally sweet mom, were looking around. The little girl was making a wish list of toys in the store. The mom said, "I know you think a lot of things in here are cool, but just remember, you'll only get one thing on the list. I don't have the money to get it all." The little girl was totally understanding and said something like "I don't really need any of them mommy." The mom looked completely heartbroken, and also so grateful for a daughter who wasn't throwing a tantrum like EVERY OTHER kid in the store. This ADORABLE, ancient man who was in the store asked me to get the mom's name and phone number and tell her we were having a raffle, so I did. He then paid for every single item on the little girl's list, along with a teddy bear he picked out. We called the mother the next day to let her know, and she was completely overwhelmed. She came in to pick up the gifts, was so excited and relieved, and left us a note written by her daughter to give the man if he came back in. I think it's probably the nicest thing I've seen happen for absolutely no recognition."