Lucky Numbers

One of her many tote bags—and one of the tenets of Pocket Full of Rocks.

Seventeen has shown up a lot in my life. I should have seen it coming since my anthem as a teenager was “At Seventeen” by Janis Ian. Except for the dark curly hair, she could have been singing about me (said ten million teenage girls in 1976).

I was married to my children’s dad on August 17^th and seventeen months later, Annie was born on January 17^th. My son arrived on October 17^th several years later. Other seventeens appeared over the years, but those first three sealed the number into our family lore. And then my Dad died on February 17, 2021. A sadder seventeen, but in a way, I felt like it was kind of like synchronicity.

So, when I was trying to decide about how often to send out this newsletter, I decided to schedule them to go out on the 17^th of the month. There is no professional consideration that went into this decision—I chose it because it’s Annie’s number.

Nonprofits are all about numbers—reaching them, collecting them, reporting them, seeking them. We are a small nonprofit—we are a board of five. A couple of us have some actual nonprofit experience, the others of us have other skills. Small as we are, I think we are in good shape—our board members are conscientious and earnest and we have an amazing counsel to make sure we are crossing our Ts and dotting our Is. And being aware of the numbers.

And what are we going to do with those numbers? When they take the form of donations, they will be used to endow the Citizenship scholarship in Annie’s name. They will seek out and support projects that uphold Annie’s desire to be a responsible environmental steward and be mindful of our planet and its resources. The numbers we collect will go towards raising awareness for Stage 4 breast cancer and advocate for its targets—and their families. And we will find ways to promote and exemplify kindness in our communities locally and globally.

Of course I’m seeing “17” everywhere now. It’s the number of messages on my iMessage app. It’s the minutes left on the clock when I look up to check how much longer I have to stay on the treadmill. It’s the handwritten notation on the package that was just delivered. It’s the temperature outside when I check the weather app to see if we’re done with the snow and ice yet.

I always say I don’t believe in signs—and the jury’s still out. But all these 17s? I’m taking every single one as a little nod from Annie to keep going. A pat on the back. Maybe sometimes an eye roll when I’m being too mushy. But I do believe she would be okay with what we’re doing with Pocket Full of Rocks and that is to find those who need help and offer it. The numbers will always support that.

Thanks for keeping up with the work we’re doing. We appreciate that. If you’d like to do more, there is a donation link below with which you can make a contribution or share the link with others. We gratefully accept all sorts of gifts and help.

And if you have already donated—HUGE thanks! We literally can’t get any of this done without you, so thank you from the bottom of all of our hearts. ♥️

Read about Annie’s Scholarship

Donate to Pocket Full of Rocks