Did you know that May is National Smile Month? Now, the month is meant to be dedicated to teeth, oral health and visiting your dentist.
When I heard it was national smile month, I thought it meant that you should smile more in May.
So I've decided that it can mean both!
Most of you know that I'm connected to a non-profit named Simply Smiles. (simplysmiles.org) My partner/husband, Bryan runs the organization, and I think that it's an incredible charity.
At Simply Smiles everything begins with a smile and a relationship. Why would anyone want our help if they don't know who we are? Why would parents accept a college scholarship for their children if they don't know and trust us?
We're all stronger together, so it just makes sense to work with people to change the world, rather than throw change and our privileged bias at them.
This leads me to a little story that completely melted my heart yesterday.
I teach a guitar camp on the Cheyenne River Reservation every summer and I love it.
One of my kids on the reservation was talking with a volunteer yesterday and told her, "my friend, Kristen, is a musician, and she teaches me guitar. I know all of her songs by heart. Because of her I'm going to go to college and study music."
Smile. And a tear.
I love this kid so much it makes me crazy, and I can't wait to see her and talk to her about college.
Happy national smile month, Kristen
