{"id":9762,"date":"2023-12-14T09:09:22","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T15:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/?p=9762"},"modified":"2023-12-14T09:09:25","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T15:09:25","slug":"insights-found-in-tupperware-bowls-and-survey-boxes-may-influence-your-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.handsfreemama.com\/2023\/12\/14\/insights-found-in-tupperware-bowls-and-survey-boxes-may-influence-your-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Insights Found in Tupperware Bowls and Survey Boxes May Influence Your Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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For Thanksgiving dinner 2022, I made conversation cards to use during our sit-down meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some might find that strange or unnecessary, but when a family goes through a traumatic event, the aftereffects can make holiday rituals, including dinner conversation, difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never had an old Tupperware dish filled with scraps of paper held so much value. Based on my family\u2019s response to the first question I pulled out of the bowl, I sensed my homemade cards would successfully fill awkward silences and steer us away from tender topics.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Those conversation cards were a game changer that day \u2013 not just because they created an inclusive and welcoming dinner environment \u2013 but also because they helped us remember what we cherished about each other. They also helped us learn things we didn\u2019t know after a year of growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Thanksgiving, my family didn\u2019t need cards to make conversation, but we had some. I was gifted with two sets of thoughtful, entertaining, and beautifully made conversation cards<\/a>. My friend, Jessica, created these cards through her small business, Lumitory<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although a great deal of healing has happened over the past year for my family, the cards brought an extra spark of life to the table, not to mention a great deal of laughter too. I noticed that long after the plates were emptied, people stayed at the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust one more question<\/em>,\u201d my daughters kept saying. It was one of the best experiences we shared as a family this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I tried to describe to a friend what made these particular cards so impactful, I couldn\u2019t find the words. Luckily, the owner of the printing company that printed the cards did. Chris told Jessica that he doesn\u2019t normally read all the materials he is printing, but he took time to read every single one of the cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what the world needs more of,\u201d Chris told Jessica. \u201cWe need more opportunities to connect and build community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what the world needs more of.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I thought about my friend Alice Kajoina who recently filled a large order of BEADS OF STRENGTH bracelet sets<\/a> for my online community. Since meeting meeting Alice<\/a> on a Learning Trip to Rwanda with African Road<\/a> in 2018, she and have corresponded weekly, sharing the ups and downs of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the fall, Alice shared that her son was getting married in January, and she would be expected to host the family introductions in her modest home. Alice expressed concern about the condition of her floor, which is currently made of dirt. Around the same time, Scott had presented several employees with a stack of Alice\u2019s bracelets at a special recognition event. Hearing the remarkable story of the woman who made the bracelets touched the recipients deeply. Alice and I wondered if my online community would be interested in buying sets of bracelets to fund the installation of a tile floor in her home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure enough, the orders came quickly\u2014so quickly that I worried Alice couldn\u2019t fill them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d Alice said. \u201cI have many helpers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Alice was referring to the Brave Girls, a group she started in 2019. She\u2019d noticed other women in her community struggling to make ends meet, so Alice took it upon herself to teach them to sew and make handcrafts so they could market their wares and earn income. The purpose of their gatherings goes far beyond creating product; it\u2019s about creating hope through community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Alice and the Brave Girls worked to fill this recent large order<\/a>, I received heartwarming updates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 \u201cFive ladies, two young girls, and myself worked hard till late evening, and it was such a good time as we shared stories. It has been long since we worked on beads together!\u201d
\u2022 \u201cI took to Sam, an expert in cutting paper, for accuracy so the size of the beads are all the same.\u201d
\u2022 \u201cI put the bracelets into stacks. Resty and Catherine select bracelets that go well together to ease the work.\u201d
\u2022 \u201cBrave Girls are happy they get to earn from bracelets. It boosts them so much.\u201d
\u2022 \u201cDon't worry, Rachel; we are all enjoying the work and our time together!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is what the world needs more of.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I sat down the other day and went through the results of the travel survey<\/a> in which I invited you to participate last month. My hope is to expand my retreats and gatherings to places my online community has asked me to visit, like the West Coast and possibly some international locations. On the survey, there was a space where respondents could type in their WHY. As I read through the responses, tears filled my eyes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n