Paying It Forward

I’ve only met Catherine of Her Bad Mother fame once.

It was too short of a conversation. she came late. i was leaving early. but it only took a fraction of a minute to realize how amazing Catherine really is. I mean, think about it. She’s behind the call-to-action posts and the mommy blogger love-fest. She’s the mastermind behind the newly revived mommy blogs toronto. and she tours the mother ‘hood for urbanmoms. and her basement! don’t get me started on how much i heart that basement of hers.

and she’s smart. and nice. and hilarious. and i could keep gushing over Catherine and my girl-crush on her, but i won’t, since i DO actually have a point. Catherine is many things. and in addition to all the things i’ve already mentioned, Catherine is hurting right now.

She’s hurting terribly because her nephew Tanner is hurting. You see, Tanner suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It’s degenerative. and it’s incurable.

And as the Christmas season approaches, i’ve been thinking about ways to pay it forward. (i was inspired by Colleen Gleason’s Thursday Thirteen this past week). at a drive-thru, pay for the person behind you. leave an extra big tip. mow your neighbor’s lawn. drive past a good spot in a parking lot so the person behind you can have it. there are so many simple ways to do it.

and then i got an email and i realized that i’d just found the most perfect way to pay it forward this holiday season. you see, Kristen of Motherhood Uncensored and Julie of Mothergoosemouse have come up with the fabulous Her Bad Auction. They are raffling off over 30 amazing items to raise money for muscular dystrophy research. I was not even halfway through the email when i knew what i wanted to donate to the auction (well…not really an auction. it’s a raffle. winners will be drawn randomly. the more tickets you put towards an item, the bigger you chances. but you can win with a donation of only $1!)

Please visit Her Bad Auction this week. there are so many good things to bid on, including a Scholastic basket filled with tons of books and a personalized blanket made by my fabulous self (no shame in a little self promotion….) and an original painting donated by another urbanmom blogger, Haley-O. You can purchase as many tickets as you like, and they are only $1 and $5 each. it is an inexpensive and easy way to help a fellow urbanmom.