A Legacy
of Love!

I had heard about the program before but did not realize the impact until one was made for me. I keep it on my desk at work where it is always in view. I have a very stressful job and always trying to keep a hundred balls in the air at the same time. When I feel I am getting stressed, I take a deep breath and read the "prescription" and an unbelievable calm replaces the stress. It is cute, it is funny and so valuable to one's well-being.

The process we went through while creating my buddy gave me the opportunity to reflect on the reason and essence of the work I do. Having the smiley buddy on my work area has allowed me to stay close to this essence in a loving way. When I came across other buddies in patient’s rooms, I recognized the value of this creative and touching work and so did the patients who had one nearby. Some felt hope, being cared for, remembered, essential qualities when one may be feeling vulnerable or in distress.

Dear Linda, Jim Croce once wrote a beautiful song called "Time in a bottle". For Rita's legacy you created "Smiles in a bottle". The smiles and happiness pill bottle is a special one. Your mom would have been so happy and especially proud of you in keeping her legacy of smiles and happiness alive. She was, from what I remember, a woman of warmth and loved to laugh. She had a special, kind and compassionate smile. Her smile I remember so vividly. Linda, you have been a wonderful daughter who accompanied your mom through life, in good times and until her last days. She is watching over you and is encouraging you through this journey. I am honored, so honored, to have been the first person you offered this "smile buddy" to, all decorated in blue. Kind words are inserted inside, all in memory of Rita, and they make me smile. Live every moment, laugh every chance you get, love beyond words. Notice they all begin with "L"

Je suis une survivante d’une AVC hémorragique et j’anime le groupe de support « La vie après un AVC » avec Linda. Durant la création de mon bonhomme souriant je me suis surprise moi-même à créer, imaginer, inventer. Ce temps d’arrêt m’a permis de prendre conscience des qualités que je possède, de réaliser la bonne personne que je suis. Durant la réalisation, quelques pensées et images se sont bousculées dans ma tête et confirme tous les efforts que j’ai fait pour être ce que je suis aujourd’hui. En introduisant dans ma capsule le mot « résilience », une bague, avec un bonhomme sourire, le mot « im/possible », une mini « $20 » qui représente mon témoignage et ma valeur, tout prend son sens et c’est ainsi qu’Ycnan (Nancy à l’envers) a été créé. Merci Linda de m’avoir prescrit ce bon « médicament » C’est la meilleure prescription qu’on m’a prescrit !

I wanted you to know how powerful your gifts are. When I was a kid (in the early 80's) there was a trending in Spanish kids: lucky charms, very similar to the one in my "smile buddy", but with a cord through the hole so they could be hooked somewhere. I hooked mine to my watch buckle. My mother was training to run a marathon. She had a regular watch, not a cool sport watch, so she used to use mine! She didn't remove the charm to run, so my little smiling charm run quite a few kilometers hanging from her wrist, including the actual marathon race. She finished the race, at a time in Spain where women were not very common in those races. She did not have the chance to study when she was a kid, so she got her diploma as an adult studying at night. She used to take me and my brother to judo classes, and she ended up signing too for classes, and fighting against me in practice. She used to take us to swimming competitions. She barely could swim. She started training and now, over 65 years old she has the regional record of several distances in her category. The charm in my watch fell at some point and was lost. Your gift brought it back to my memory and now I see it winking at me saying I can fight my way through stuff no matter how hard or improbable it might seem.

"I love your project! It is a really nice way to celebrate your mother, and the love she shared with you. I want you to know that the little smile buddy you gave to Luis is now on my desk. I see it every day when I'm at work. It reminds me of him, but in a nice way, with a smile, so when I'm a little bit sad, I look over my side and here it is, reminding me to smile, even when I have tears in my eyes, because he loved when I smiled."