Last year around this time I was introduced to a story of a young boy. He was like any other fun loving pre-teen kid for once exception.
He was dying.
His name was Bo Johnson and at the age of 12 he was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia, EM/AML. You can find more information about his life here. Tommorow Sept. 28th is the year anniversary since his passing last year.
I know that there are hundreds if not thousands of children and young adults that are in the midst of a life and death battle with one form of cancer or another. My heart breaks for each and every one of them, but for some reason Bo’s story caught my attention.
I believe in my heart of hearts that we are all in someway shape or form connected to one another. That we are all strands of colorful experiences weaved through a grand tapestry we call life. Some strands touch, some do not and others connect us to strands we would not ordinarily ever be crossed with.
That is what happened with learning about Bo’s story. He was halfway across the country, living a life I had no connection to and then one day a connection was made.
And his message was delivered to me….
“Love each other, help each other, have your neighbor’s back. If you see someone in need- even a stranger- reach out and help. The world can be a better place if we care and help each other.”
The simplicity of this message touched me somewhere deep inside and something in me felt drawn and
compelled to follow his journey which ended last September 28, 2012. The person that originally was the “strand” that connect my life to his reached out to cookie decorators across the web, asking if people wanted to get involved in a bake sale of sorts to help contribute to the GoBo! Foundation whose mission is…
The GO BO Foundation brings hope to children with life-threatening medical conditions by funding research, supporting treatment, and helping their families during times of financial need.
Last year I wasn’t able to contribute the way that I wanted. I was at the end of my pregnancy and suffered from terrible carpal tunnel syndrome. I was not able to decorate cookies at that time. But wanting to donate and be a part of something bigger than myself, I choose to go back to my candy making roots and made up a few batched of delicious butter crunch that I wrapped in pretty packaging and sent it on its way to the bake sale.
This year I was able to do more, so I did. These are the cookies I made to help and I hope they do.
These are some funky cats I made, which I love. I used a stencil for the background and I think it made them pop!
https://www.facebook.com/
http://www.gobofoundation.org/
http://www.ppulse.com/Articles-Features-c-2012-09-05-103945.114136-Bo-Johnson-Teaching-Us-How-to-Live.html
