99. Tie a note to a balloon and let it go

One of my friends in my Moms' group introduced me to the blog of Lindsay Jones. Lindsay lost her 4 month old son Ayden to SIDs in August of last year. If you read through her blog, you will see that Lindsay is an amazing woman, an amazing mother. Tomorrow is Ayden's birthday, he would be one. My heart was breaking as I was in the store today looking at balloons. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that people should be buying balloons that say "Happy Birthday" to celebrate a beautiful one year old boy. I feel so privileged to be able to commemorate Ayden's birthday, and I hope someone finds the balloon and is touched by his story.

Here are a few pictures of us releasing the balloons. I attached a note with his picture, his date of birth and a link to their family blog.

The Challenge

I follow a few of my friend's blogs who have 101 challenges and I love the idea. Since I stay home with Caleb, sometimes I am searching for things to complete. I love lists and feel great keeping up with them. I hope it will be a great motivator for myself, and for our family too. I plan to post updates to this blog as I make my way through my 101 challenges in 1001 days.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Start Date: Saturday, April 24th 2010
End Date: Saturday, January 19th 2013

(using this handy dandy calculator!)

And this new blog and post complete #97 on my list - start a 101 challenge.