Who’s your favorite Care Bear? At our house, it’s Cheer Bear. Of course, to us, she will always be “Care Bear” because she’s the only one who matters.
Care Bear came to live with us, and specifically, to live with Bella, in May 2004. We had discovered at Bella’s two-year-old well-child check that she had a heart murmur. Further testing revealed Atrial-Septal Defect (ASD) which is basically a hole in the wall of the heart where the tissue did not fully grow together. It was causing no trouble at the time and if undetected, ill effects from ASD don’t usually surface until the early 20s. Corrective surgery is recommended at around age 5. Ron was about to separate from active duty and we didn’t want to run into any future insurance issues regarding a pre-existing condition so we opted for an earlier correction, at age 2 1/2. The procedure was done via cardiac catheterization. All was successful and the only external mark was the incision in her groin where they inserted the catheter. At her one-year follow-up appointment, Bella was given a clean bill of health.
All she has left from the ordeal is a patch in her heart, a story, and Care Bear.
Care Bear was a get-well gift from my friend Allie’s family. Care Bear and Bella hit it off immediately and have been inseparable ever since. (Well, as long as you don’t count Care Bear’s extended hiatuses as Queen of Hide-and-Seek…)
So what is Care Bear Day?
It’s actually called National Share Your Care Day, sponsored by the Care Bears and American Greetings Properties. According to the Care Bears’ Facebook page, “The Share Your Care movement aims to inspire others to share their love by showing someone they care on September 9 – National Share Your Care Day! With help from our Care Bears ambassadors (that’s you!), we hope to inspire others to participate in random acts of kindness.”
The Care Bears are all about love, caring, and sharing so they are the perfect ambassadors for this campaign to make the world a better place, one small step at a time.
How to Share Your Care
Here are a couple ideas of ways you can share your care today (and everyday!). If you have more ideas, please drop them in the comments or join the conversation over on Behind Every Day’s Facebook page.
- Call someone to let them know you care.
- Take someone to lunch.
- Share your toys.
- Take an extra turn doing the dishes.
- Hold the door.
- Say hello.
- Be polite on the road.
- Leave quarters at the laundromat
- Leave a generous tip
- Play a game with a friend.
- Let someone go in front of you in line.
- Pick up litter.
- (fill in the blank with your shared care here!)
The possibilities are endless and no act is too small. I challenge you to Share Your Care today and every day. Bella and Care Bear want you to be nice out there and help make the world a better place for all of us.
A few favorite Care Bear photos
Just a couple of my favorite photos of Bella and Care Bear over the years. Care Bear is such a part of the family that she even has her own tag in my photo organizing software. Care Bear makes me smile and you will smile too once you get to know her.
Get out there and #ShareYourCare!
Need help getting started? Click the picture below to join the kindness challenge.
![[cheer bear care bear in tree with banner] Sign up today to embark on an easy 3 day quest to spread love and kindness throughout your world.](https://i0.wp.com/behindeveryday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/share-your-care-kindness-challenge-banner.png?resize=1024%2C536&ssl=1)
Some one close to me had the same defect repaired. In the 80s, the only option was open-heart surgery. Your daughter received her special comfort Care Bear. The person I know received a Popeye tabletop-sized Game and Watch, which has a prominent spot over 30 years later. Thanks for sharing your story and for the reminder to good a good turn for somebody else tomorrow.
It’s great how technology has improved to make these procedures less invasive. I love that the Popeye watch still has a place of honor.