A memorable night in Vegas

My last night in Vegas was spent with two of the most wonderful people I have ever met. My good friend Terolyn and her 9 year old son Kody.
I hadn’t seen Terolyn for over 14 years. We met when we both volunteered at a performing arts camp in upstate New York in 1999 and thanks to the power of Facebook we got back in touch a few years ago. Terolyn is a single mum who has brought up Kody to be a very inspiring person.

On my final night in Vegas I met up with Terolyn and Kody and we hit the strip. We started off our night going on the big wheel which was so much fun. We were all dancing away in the pod. The people we were with in the pod must have thought we were crazy!:)

We then went to a themed restaurant called Margaritaville which was a pretty crazy place with people on stilts and a woman sliding down the side of a volcano and in to a big glass of Margarita! Only in America!:)

On the table next to us were a group of young guys all with lots of coloured bracelets on. We ended up chatting to them and found out they were from Canada and going to a rave called the Electric Daisy Carnival. The idea behind the bracelets is to exchange them with the people you meet. You do this by doing a special hand shake which signifies:- peace, love, friendship and respect. Terolyn told them about 101 Things and one of the guys came over and crouched next to me and told me his uncle had died of cancer that very day. He was a big burly ice hockey player and he broke down in whilst telling me. We connected instantly and chatted for a while and I gave him a big hug. He then gave me one of his bracelets and thanked me for what I was doing and we shared a moment that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It was so lovely of him to thank me for what I was doing. My heart breaks when people tell me they have lost loved ones to cancer. I often feel uncomfortable talking about 101 Things after hearing such news so it was lovely that he understood why I was doing it.

The three of us then went to watch the fountains at the Belagio which was Kody’s first ever time seeing them and then to the Mirage hotel to see the volcano show. We also walked around the fountains of Caesars Palace and we all threw in pennies and made two wishes each.

Kody and I got on like a house on fire. He is the most amazing kid. Such a smart, selfless and caring person. He gave a child on the street his balloon hat, he wants to do charity work to help the homeless and I could see in his mums eyes just how proud he makes her. They have such a close bond which reminded me of me and my mum. There are a handful of people I look up to in life and I found myself looking at Kody thinking how honoured I was to have met him.
I told Terolyn what an amazing job she had done bringing up Kody. I feed off good energy and being around them both was like being hit by a thunderbolt of amazing good energy. I can see Kody going on to help a lot of people in the future.

At the end of the night Kody asked if I was ever coming back to see them. I said of course I would and he replied “that’s good because that’s what I wished for, both times”. Upon hearing this my heart instantly melted and I started to well up. Even as I type this I have tears in my eyes. I’m not sure anyone has ever used their wishes so that they could see me again. It was one of the loveliest things anyone has ever said to me.

Terolyn emailed me the other day telling me how Kody was really inspired by me and that he is now talking about how he make the world a better place. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement. At such a young age I think it’s just incredible how much he wants to help others.
One of my favourite quotes is “Be the change you want to see in the world” by Gandhi. Something tells me that Kody is going to do just that and inspire a lot of people in the process.

At this very moment I am the master of making my own wishes and dreams come true and I promise you this Kody….I will be back to see you both very very soon. You’ve both captured my heart and when you meet people that do that you keep them in your life forever.

Thank you both for a truly amazing night in Vegas.
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