OK so every once in a while a story comes along that just quietly knocks the wind out of you in the best possible way and this is one of them. Sixty kids and fifty volunteers showed up at the Islamic Center of San Diego North County to plant what they're calling a Heroes' Garden, in memory of three shooting victims from the community. Sixty kids. Voluntarily. With shovels. I cannot get ten adults to agree on a pizza topping.

And the idea is so simple it's kind of beautiful: instead of a memorial that just sits still, they planted something that grows. A garden, put into the ground together, as a living tribute. A plaque is a memory. A garden is a promise.

The kids and volunteers planted it together, all sixty-plus of them showing up with gloves and an honestly unreasonable amount of energy, and you KNOW at least one eight-year-old in that crowd is going to be checking on their plant every single week forever.

Grief doesn't have to just sit there. it can be turned outward, into dirt and roots and a reason for kids to learn how to take care of something. That might be the whole thing honestly.

I write about weird world records and skateboarding dogs all day and I love my job, but I genuinely believe moments like this deserve the exact same energy. Joy and healing deserve documentation too. These kids showed up to honor people their community lost by making something alive.

You can read the full story over at 10News.

Anyway. If you need me I'll be over here watering my one sad houseplant with a brand new sense of purpose.