At the beginning of each week, I usually look at the calendar on my Blackberry to see if any friends are celebrating birthdays in the coming days. If so, I try to make sure to send out e-cards, or if I get a chance, to pick up a birthday card at the store. Yesterday, I glanced at my calendar for this coming week and saw that an old friend, whom I haven't seen in many years, is celebrating a birthday this week. And I also saw that my mom's cat is celebrating a birthday on Thursday.
Sounds pretty trivial I know. But my mom is super close to her cat (she's had her 17 years) and she's brought her many moments of joy. I've never done this before, but I think I'm going to send the cat a birthday card. (Mom isn't online so I haven't ruined the surprise.) My mom is experiencing a bit of a rough patch lately and I'm sure it would bring a brief smile to her face.
Changing someone's mood is difficult, but doing something small that makes a person smile is easy if you really know the person. And you never know when that small thing might just turn out to be a lifeline.
