Keeping Drake in our Thoughts

Your Story: Last night, Ty unpacked his bag from a weekend up in Greeley, and brought me some Drake Durkee Kindness Kits. He had received them from Melissa on Thursday, and promptly left for the weekend on a scheduled trip. My heart winced as I realized the significance of June 10, and the practical side of me started planning on what we could do to honor this day, as we only had a few hours left. 

Minutes later, our friend Logan was at our door, with homemade cookies, and Drake Durkee bracelets. The Murphy Family was much more well planned than us! We talked about Drake, what an exceptional kiddo he was, and how his family is doing so much good while keeping his legacy strong. 

Realizing that this day was soon to end, we decided to carry out a few small acts in Drake's honor that demonstrated kindness: I gave Don and backrub, and sent my mom a sweet text. Ty stopped being crabby with me over a tutoring appointment I had made for him. Don decided to embrace the long chore list I had set out for him the next day, instead of teasing me about it. And Breckie was a sweet boy to his me for the rest of the night. 

These are such small acts, and in a perfect world, we would carry on in this way all the time. For us, sometimes it just doesn't come naturally. We need a prompt to remember to follow the Golden Rule. I think that is one of the traits that made Drake so exceptional. He lived his life being kind and caring, without prompts. While it takes so many of us tens and tens of years to understand the power of treating each other kindly all the time, Drake instinctively knew and did this.

We think and speak of Drake so often, before learning about Kindness Day. But now, we have another way to remember and speak of him, in another beautiful way. Thank you Durkee Family for setting up Kindness Day.

(Thank you to The Guerra Family for their story)