this is life in austin & aspen

This Mother’s Day, I’m working with Clever Girls in support of Macy’s Heart of Haiti to shine a light on the “trade, not aid” program, which provides sustainable income to Haitian artisans struggling to rebuild their lives and support their families after the 2010 earthquake.

Happy early Mother’s Day, Mom! Here’s a story we know and love that tells everyone out there what an awesome Mom you are!

When I (Lyssa) was around three years old, my mom would teach Sunday school, and drop me off in the nursery. She would skip breakfast most of the time. She says that all the ladies in the nursery loved me, They all loved Lyssa in the nursery. In the nursery they would give all the kids those goldfish crackers, and I just loved those.  When Mom came to pick me up for church, all the ladies would coo over me (who wouldn’t?!) and then send me to church with a to-go cup of goldfish.

Mom would be so hungry from skipping breakfast that she would beg goldfish off of me: “Lyssie, can I have just one goldfish, pleeeease?”  I would dutifully dole me out ONE of those itty bitty crackers.  It was kind of a game though, kinda funny.

At church, I was a good kid, just sitting in the pew and playing with the pipe cleaners and eating my goldfish.

When it came time for the children’s sermon, I would skip down the aisle to the front to sit with the pastor.  I was easily the youngest kid, but tall, so you couldn’t really tell.  One time we were in the way back of the church, like two or three rows from the back, because we were so late. I skipped off down the whole length of the aisle to Dr. Fancher and sat with about ten other kids in children’s sermon.

In the middle of the sermon, as my mom tells it, a thought moved across my face, and you could just see me thinking, right before I stood up, looked towards the back of the church, right toward where my mom was sitting, right at her …

“MAMA, DON’T EAT MY CRACKERS!!!!!!”

The whole church turns to look where I’m looking, laughing, as I sit down, happy I’ve saved my crackers. Dr. Fancher pauses while the congregation laughs, then continues.

After the sermon, I bounced back down the aisle to my mom and to my crackers, settled in next to her, and went back to playing with my pipe cleaners as she pulled me to her and said, “you goose,” affectionately.

My mom is confident.  My mom didn’t get embarrassed when her daughter effectively called her a hungry, cracker-stealing thug.  My mom, when I asked her about this story, talked about how amazing it was that I was so comfortable with myself and with our church.  How neat it was that I believed that people loved me so much that no one would mind me yelling in the middle of church for my mom not to eat my crackers.  She talked about how much the nursery ladies just loved on me, how I am lovable.

My mom is the epitome of love and affection.

Mom, hide your eyes, I’m going to mail you one of these:

This is mine, styled with some old wooden prayer beads. It’s like the new-school, benefiting others version of a BFF charm! It’s from Macy’s Heart of Haiti, a “Trade, Not Aid” initiative launched by artist and social entrepreneur, Willa Shalit, The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and Macy’s. Already, Heart of Haiti has led to employment of 750 artists in Haiti, providing financial benefits for an estimated 8,500 people in the country.

Each item is a one-of-a-kind design and handmade by a Haitian master artisan from raw materials such as recycled oil drums, wrought iron, papier-mâché and stone. The collection features more than 40 home decor items including quilts, metalwork, ceramics, jewelry and paintings and is made almost entirely from recycled and sustainable items such as old cement bags, cardboard, oil drums and local gommier wood.

Thank you to Macy’s Heart of Haiti for sponsoring my participation in this “Share Your Heart” promotion. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Heart of Haiti products are available online at Macy’s.com.