Somewhere along my carpool route, three days before Mother’s Day, the idea occurred to me. It began as only an idea of a cupcake drop-off. Something similar to my cookie drop in a mailbox of a friend. Around here at LoveFeast Table we like to call it a LoveBomb. A LoveBomb is a gift of a meal or morsel shared unexpectedly. The concept is simple. Who doesn’t like a little treat or even a whole meal passed their way? It’s some unexpected goodness that lifts the spirit and brightens the day. On a basic level food is a common denominator. Food brings people together, side by side in ways that are so basic and so human.
My idea was to drop off some kind of treat, hopefully beautiful and festive cupcakes, to a women’s shelter that I was familiar with. The ladies of Healing House had been on my mind since last fall when I had attended a benefit for Healing House, chaired by my friend Teena of Intentional Serenity. These women were working hard to change their lives in a program that was intensive and challenging but with high results for those who finished it. I knew they were the ladies who I would want to LoveBomb with my cupcake idea!
I made a phone call to Mary, who works with Healing House, to see if I was able to bring in some treats to the shelter and how many women and children there might be. You see Healing House is the only shelter in Minneapolis that allows children to stay with their mothers.
She called me back immediately- not only could I come but, would I stay and share a meal.
And, she asked would I want to share a little of my story with the ladies.
Too be honest, I’m not sure what exactly I said. I’m not a public speaker. I’m a mom…from the ‘burbs. I think I said something about, we all have mountains to climb in life. And, that we all have a story. And, that your story is important. I said that your mere presence can make a difference to the person beside you. Maybe I was out of place…a mom, from the ‘burbs, bringing cupcakes. But, what I experienced I fully enjoyed. I shared a lunch with some ladies…many who have children and like me are mothers. We shared lunch. We shared motherhood. We shared cupcakes. Hopefully, that all fell away and we were women…sharing a moment, remembering we care about each other, even if we’re strangers and out of place.
Thankfully, along the way my friend Mela joined my adventure.
Mela was my roomie at Blissdom and one of my shopping pals at Mudd Lake. She’s funny. She’s deep. She’s a gifted public speaker and talented singer. She’s a mama of 3 and she’s walkin’ out her dream. She also wrote the song for this touching video for Healing House.
We decorated the table centers with cupcakes and gift bags.
We brought cookies to share with the kids!
We met women who shared their stories and who can feel their hope rising.
We toured a newly remodeled beauty salon and
connected a newly opened Ulta Salon with a place where they might donate discontinued merchandise.
We discovered an amazing Cupcake Boutique!
And, along the way, we made at least one baby smile!
What was just going to be a cupcake drop-off turned it to so much more. It’s not that I thought that delivering a cupcake was going to make me feel like I’d made a huge difference in someone’s life…or that by receiving a cupcake one’s troubles would roll away forever. It is more simple. More simple than that. It was just to say I thought of you, if only for an instant. It was a LoveBomb. The gift to me was the unexpected connections and conversations I had with women I normally wouldn’t have crossed paths with except for one phone call that got the ball rolling and turned it into so much more. And that was the sweet icing on the cupcake!
Where could you turn up and do the unexpected?
