Day 31

I've got a string of donations going again. Back to more active stuff tomorrow.

Today I donated to the fall fundraising campaign for the Kidzu Children's Museum. One of the things I really like about Kidzu is that despite being a small, local kid's museum, they regularly have events for kids with disabilities and sensory issues, along with their families. And these events are totally free.

And this is not related, but tonight is Halloween, so please keep these thoughts in mind as you pass out candy:

Day 30

Today I made a donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center. They are best known for legal battles with the KKK and other hate groups. With hate crimes on the rise lately, it's important that we use every avenue we can to fight bigotry and intolerance, including speaking out, protesting in various ways, and supporting organizations that stand up against those who seek to intimidate, harass, or harm people based on racism and bigotry.

Day 29

Today I made a donation to the SECU Family House. They offer a place to stay for patients of UNC Hospitals and their loved ones, providing guests with lodging, meals, supportive programs, transportation and a support network.

Since opening their doors almost a decade ago, they have helped 20,000 families. 

Day 28

(This one's going to be a bit long. Feel free to skip to the bottom for lots of pictures.)

Today got off to an unusual start. I woke up way too early. Sometimes when this happens, I can listen to an audio book or podcast and it lets me fall back to sleep. That didn't work this time, but I got to listen to an interesting RadioLab episode about Oliver Sacks, and recordings made during the last several months of his life on his own terms. He knew his days were numbered, but he kept on living his life. It reminded me very much of my mom, who passed away last year.

Once I was up and about, my wife was telling me about her friend from high school who was murdered, along with her two kids -- by her own husband. Their bodies were never found, so a conviction was going to be difficult. His conviction on all three murders came down yesterday.

Then I got in the car to go to my 5K race, and Chris Cornell was singing a cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U - both Cornell and Prince left us recently, and far too soon.

So I was in a weird mindset, thinking a lot about life, and death, and mortality, and mourning.

What a perfect lead in to the Day of the Dead 5K! Mourning becomes remembering, and remembering becomes celebrating.

This was a great event, benefiting the Boys and Girls Club, which was awesome because a lot of kids were participating. Free margaritas at the end got a lot of adults participating as well, so all around it was one of my favorite events. I hope to do it again next year.

I left some flowers at one of the Dia de Muertos altars, saw some amazing costumes, passed by an incredible Halloween display at someone's house along the route, passed through a beautiful cemetery, drank a fantastic margarita, and headed for home. 

Day 27

Today I volunteered at my son's elementary school for the Roadrunner Romp fundraiser. Stephanie was there with Owen at the beginning, manning a bounce house, and I showed up at the end to help with taking down and cleaning up.  Our little school raised over $30,000 this year.

Day 26

Today I took German chocolate/chocolate chip cupcakes to Chapel Hill Fire Department Station 3.  You can't go wrong being kind to firefighters.

This was actually a dual purpose visit. Our daughter Amelia and her caregiver Sarah came along with me. Amelia is 14 and has autism and intellectual disability. She's non-verbal, and may respond unpredictably in an emergency situation. I wanted to introduce them to her and give them some information, in case there is ever an emergency reported at our house. If you've got a family member with similar challenges, I definitely recommend it.

Day 25

Today was another one of those food-based fundraisers that work great on days when schedules are tight. The Loop Pizza is hosting a benefit for the Children's Cooperative Playschool. Owen went there when he was little. So twist my arm and make me eat pizza.

Day 24

Today I donated to the Arc of NC. The Arc of the US is a national organization that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They've been around since the 1950's and we use their services from time to time.

Day 23

Today I provided snacks for Eyes Ears Nose & Paws, a local service dog training organization. My daughter has a service dog (he's retired at this point) so this is something near and dear to me.

This particular organization trains dogs for people with mobility impairments. Their dogs help with things like opening doors, turning on lights, and retrieving items. They also train medical alert dogs for helping people with diabetes, alerting them to fluctuations in their blood sugar levels.

They are gearing up for client training, which can be busy and intensive, so they needed some snacks to keep them going. I checked with them on what kinds of snacks worked best, and did my best to set them up for the week. 

Day 22

Today we went to a local farm's annual "pumpkin patch" event. Hay ride, corn maze, pick your own pumpkins, etc. We invited Amelia's caregiver and her boyfriend to join us, and paid their way before they could object. I would include some pictures but they didn't really come out well. Between the bright sun and the shady canopies, everything was either really backlit, or everyone was squinting, or people were moving around. But we did have fun.

Day 21

Today I helped my kid sell popcorn for Cub Scouts. I also helped a couple European travelers find their way to Franklin Street so they could get access to Wifi so they could get an Uber to over to Raleigh. Or something like that.

PS - Thanks to Flyleaf Books for letting us set up outside their front door. What a great local book store!

Reminder: Beach House Giveaway

Just a reminder that anyone who donates to one of my fundraisers will be entered in a drawing for a free stay at our house in Daytona Beach, Florida. This was my mom's house, and I think she would really love to know that people are getting a lot of enjoyment out of it. You can check it out here.

Fun fact: The pile of coins used for Day 20 came from her. After she passed away last year, while we were cleaning up the house, we found jars and cups and baggies of spare change stashed in all kinds of random places.

If want to donate some of the spare change you've stashed away, just use one of the links over there, where it says "Quick Links to Donate" --->>>

If you're not in a position to donate, you can also be entered in the drawing by volunteering, performing one kind or charitable act, or somehow making someone's day better (and then telling me about it so I can enter you in the drawing).

It's a lovely little house within walking distance to the beach. It has two bedrooms plus a pull-out couch and a pack-and-play. There's a lovely kitchen, two full bathrooms, a big fenced back yard, and a washer and dryer. It also has wifi, Netflix, a large assortment of books, and a small assortment of beach toys and gear. It can sleep up to six people (or even more if you want to get creative).

Thanks y'all! Let me know if you have any questions, and good luck!

Day 20

I used to work for one of those tech companies that provided perks like an annual bonus, a nice employee cafeteria, an onsite fitness center, and of course free coffee.

I gave all that up for a job that didn't make me crazy. Sure there are some trade-offs. Instead of a fitness center, groups of people get together to do laps around the parking lot. Instead of a cafeteria, we have a wall of vending machines. I'm not a coffee drinker, but when I started here I was surprised to find that even the water cooler came with a fee. The "water club" dues are anywhere from $3 to $6 a month depending on what part of the building you work in.

For me the trade-offs were definitely worth it. Even so, I think employees here are underappreciated, so I decided to give them a little love. I left a pile of change on a table in the break room.

I was trying to be sneaky about it, but I may have gotten busted by one of my co-workers. Danny if you're reading this, YOU SAW NOTHING.

Day 19

I recently joined a new team at work, and the whole team just moved to a new area. This of course calls for donuts. I made sure to warn everyone that they are not low carb, not gluten free, and probably not vegan, so approach with caution.

Day 18

Today I ate lunch. It was delicious.

I know, very giving of me right? So generous and selfless!

It was actually for a good cause. Our local elementary school was getting proceeds from every sale.

Thanks Jersey Mike's! I'll call it a win-win.

Day 17

Today I donated six bags of clothing to a local thrift store. Sorry, no good stories or pictures for this one...

Day 16

Today I donated to the Orange County Rape Crisis Center.

Day 15

Today I'm pet sitting these two little puppies:

I say "I'm" but it's really a team effort, with lots of help from Stephanie, the kids, the neighbor kids, and anyone else who happens to be nearby. If you want to help with the puppies, come on over.

Day 14

This is always one of my favorite events, because I get to meet and talk to other autism parents. A lot of us know each other through social media but rarely meet up in person, so the autism walk is a good time to catch up, swap war stories, and compare notes on schools, programs, lectures, therapists, etc.

The weather was perfect. The crowd was great. The conversations were excellent. I even liked the new route better than the old one. And collectively we raised somewhere north of $200,000.

Looking forward to next year already.

Day 13

For this project, I try not to repeat things within the same calendar year, but I often repeat things from one year to the next. This is one I think I've done every year. Today I cooked and brought dinner to the IFC Homestart Women's Shelter. They're always so appreciative and sweet. (Steph helped out by making a grocery run, putting together a beautiful salad, and cutting up a ton of fruit. I love how supportive she is of this crazy thing I do.)