Today I read a very simple request. It came from a 5 year old boy who has terminal cancer. His birthday is coming up on July 25th, and all he wanted was to get a letter in the mail. You see when he initially got sick, a bunch of friends/family sent him get well soon cards. When he got these cards his mother was really struck by how much he enjoyed seeing his name on all of the envelops. So she told this story to her local news station and they ran a small story about the boy, asking viewers if they would write in to a P.O. Box where the mother could pick up letters and give them to her son.
I’m not sure exactly what struck me so much about this story, but upon reading it, it was all I could do to hold back tears. I think I was really struck by the simple request, and probably more so by the simple joys of a small child. I could really picture him running to the door to greet his mother who was carrying a huge pile of cards for him to read. I could also really picture the gratitude that the mother would surely have, being able to make her son so happy. I’ve written more about Simple Joys before, to me it really is the key to life. To not take yourself too seriously, slow down and just appreciate how amazing life is.
Anyway my friends and I went out, purchased 3 cards and all wrote a simple happy birthday note to the Kid. His name is Danny. It felt really good to do, and while I was mailing the card I realized it was probably one of the funnest things that I have done all year. If you have a second I encourage you to mail a letter to Danny.
Danny Nickerson
P.O. Box 212 Foxboro, MA, 02035