I want to thank everyone who has or intends to honor Maria by celebrating her birthday with gifts of your own. She was shocked, uncomfortable, and then grateful, as I suspected she would be.

So many of you are her new and true family to her now, and I suspected you would appreciate being able to join in her Birthday celebration.

Maria has no idea how important she is to people. She works so hard day and night, writing on her blog, taking her videos and photos, working on her affordable art every day of the week.

I am always telling her how much she means to people; she is always dismissing what I say as something that could hardly be true. When I met her, she was terrified of showing or selling her art at all.

I am so proud of Maria; watching her grow and gain her strength has been the joy of my life; she is strong and brave and so talented. Her heart is as big as nature.

She had been taught and told and persuaded that she didn’t have much to offer the world. Over these years, she has worked to overcome her fears, find her strength and voice, and branch out in a dozen ways.

Her creativity is a force all of its own; it simply grows.

She is only beginning to grasp her own strength and brilliance.

Your birthday celebration, your gifts to her, shocked her into seeing that people value her, care about her, and are happy to join in the celebration of her life.  She is appreciated.

That is something difficult for her to accept. She got some strong evidence yesterday. It was a sweet thing that you did for her, and that has nothing to do with money.

Many of you have messaged me this morning, asking if you can still contribute. I won’t say no to that. It’s not necessary, but it was a beautiful thing to see.

Here is the original story about celebrating Maria’s birthday.

You can also go here: Some people apologize for sending $5 or $10, but in many ways, those are the ones that touch the heart.

One of my birthdays presents for her arrived today, three hydroponic indoor herb kits for parsley, oregano, and basil. I think she will love getting started on her herb garden in January.

And thank you. Small acts of great kindness.