Kind People Are My Kinda People

Today is a happy yet sad day for me personally. Today would have been the 38th birthday of my dear, dear friend Ricardo. We tragically lost him over the summer in a swimming accident and life has never been the same. I don't expect life to ever be the same again, because how can it be when the world loses such an INCREDIBLE, REMARKABLE and AMAZING human being?

I'll tell you more about Ricardo below, but first I need your help.
Will you help me keep his memory alive by honoring him on his birthday? 

Ricardo was truly a genuine and kind person who had more love to give people than I've ever seen in anyone else. When I think of someone who was always kind, Ricardo will always be the first person I think about. So today, for his 38th birthday, I would love it if you joined me in spreading kindness around. Do something kind for someone in your life...it can be anyone: someone you live with, a stranger, a friend, someone you work with, anyone, just do something kind for them! The world needs more kindness and love and I'm sad that so many people never got to experience the love that Ricardo had to pour out. Please join me, no matter where you live, and let's spread kindness around like it is as precious to us as the air we breathe.

To honor his memory, my family filled balloons with encouraging words and sent them off into the world. It is my prayer that many people will find the notes inside the balloons and immediately smile and feel noticed and loved. Our hope is that we are filling the world with kind words and spreading cheer. We will never know who received our notes or even how many people, but that is ok. We are content knowing that we are spreading kindness in the name of Ricardo.
I created a video about my tribute to my very special friend. You can watch it below.

To those who didn't have the extreme pleasure of knowing Ricardo, allow me to fill you in a bit:

My dear friend Ricardo is so much more to me than just a friend. We first met in 2008 while both working for the Shakespeare Theatre Company. He was one of my favorite parts about working there. Our friendship blossomed to be more than just a work relationship because I realized, just like everyone else who has had the pleasure of meeting him, that I needed this joy-filled, lover of life to be by my side always. We were inseparable and had so many adventures together.

He was my confidant, my secret keeper, my cheerleader, my extreme partner in crime. When either of us had a bad day, or a stressful day, or a troubling day, or an exciting day or really just any day, we would quickly send the other person an email and would both escape to the 3rd floor back stairwell of 516 8th Street SE (our office) for a secret stairwell hug. In fact, he knew I needed a hug the Thursday before he went missing and he sent me a text about our secret stairwell hugs. When the 3 o'clock slump would hit us during the workdays, we would walk to Starbucks or CVS for a drink and sometimes would find ourselves not returning until 4 p.m. (I promise we both really did work...and A LOT!).

He always took care of me, declaring that I was "his lady." He was the person who grabbed my hand during the "epic DC earthquake" and ushered me outside of the building before either of us even knew what was happening. He would hold the door for me and would put his arm around me to protect me from shady characters we encountered on the streets (haha). He always told me he couldn't let anything happen to his lady. He was the Bruiser to my Elle as he often called me. He even told me one time that he would love to declare us married but he didn't want to scare away my many suitors (his words...ha!).

The Ricardo that I miss daily was dynamic and dazzling and caring and thoughtful and fun and charming and energetic and loving and he made you feel like you were the most amazing person whenever you were in his presence. He truly cared about everyone; he was the type of person who wanted to get to know YOU. He would ask tons of questions about you because he genuinely cared. He never listened just to get his turn to speak, he listened to you because he wanted to know you.

If you've read this far, I truly thank you! And I certainly hope you will join me in spreading kindness around. #KindPeopleAreMyKindaPeople