Well spoken Danny and Anne-Marie.

Aimee,

when I used to be down about a situation, my mother was the one to encourage me through it.  She would make me write a post card of encouragement to my aunt Betty.  My aunt is confined to a wheelchair for about the last 20 years and has to have gamma globulin treatments.  She also has Shogrins disease (not sure spell check is going to save me on that one), which has caused her to lose almost all of her teeth.  She is in a great deal of pain most of the time, has secondary asthma, some muscular disorder as well that is similar to fibromyalgia, and there is something wrong with her heart as a result of a problem years ago with some of her medications not interacting well. 

My mom would buy pop tarts and have me cut the front off the box (the little boxes not the super-sized), once the front had been cut off, you could draw a line directly down the middle, and there was the back of the box that had a big yellow smiley face on it.  When you draw the line down the middle it also, it conveniently makes a post card!  So my mother (the genius) would have me sit down (she would actually set the dreaded timer) and make me write dear Aunt Betty a letter of encouragement. 

As I got older and moved away from home, if I got upset or discouraged I continued to do so.  I don’t know if my aunt ever received much encouragement out of those pop tart post cards, but I did.  They made me remember that whatever I was going through it couldn’t possibly be as bad as the painful daily treatments and medication that my aunt was receiving.  There were even times in college when I would mail my mom a funny pop tart post card asking for the ever invisible college dollar and I would draw little jumping beans hopping on the pop tart side of the card yelling "arriba!".  My mom saved all of them in her hope chest.  I even get a little smile when I think about it now. 

If I could take the time to brighten someone else’s day in my darkest hour then there would be a little more sunshine... but it takes some effort.  You have to dare yourself to make the difference.  Because anyone can give in to depression.  That’s easy and takes no effort whatsoever.  But it takes some doing to make the effort to make the difference.  Find just one person, who has it worse than you and make a point to help them in some small way.  Make it your own personal mission or private vendetta against your will of self destruction.  Start small.  You see the little woman on the corner waiting for the bus with a scowl on her face every day.  Smile at her, she needs it more than you think.  Hold the door for that poor woman with the stroller and five kids.  If you’re going to get yourself a cola, just for a shock buy your boss one too.  Tell someone to have a nice day... and mean it.  Bake a birthday cake for someone who least expects you to.  Plant a flower in a decorative pot and give it to a neighbor just for a surprise, and tell them you appreciate them (even if they are mean to you).  Be a mystery "do gooder" and you’ll soon find it’s so contagious you can’t stop yourself.  Make some anonymous pop tart post cards to people you think could really use a little cheering up.  Even if you just write "have a nice day," or "I appreciate your friendship" that is a start, and it’s better than nothing.  There’s two post cards per box; one on the front and one on the back.  Do I have to set the timer on you?

You’ve got it in you, Aimee... I dare you to make a difference.