Today we were blessed to have my cousin Adam over for dinner. He is one of the most loving and interesting people I know. He just finished watching his brother and sister-in-law’s kids for a week, and he seems to always be doing things for people. Even as our guest, he brought fancy bracelet stones and his bracelet-making kit so that we all could make Daraicelets. They turned out beautiful, and each one featured a smashed dime with the person’s birth-year on it.
Over dinner, we got to get all caught up about Adam and his family. We got to hear the amazing story of Adam’s career. Grandpa Darais encouraged him to get into doing make-up for Hollywood stars (because when grandpa lived in LA as a youth he would see make-up artists always following the stars and he figured they were likely paid well and in demand) and that’s exactly what Adam did through hard work and a few strokes of luck. Because he works with so many Hollywood stars, Adam has a lot of super interesting stories and he shared some with us. Also, he is extraordinarily close with his family, and is often involved when and where his family has needs. It was also incredible to hear about his own journey of not being accepted for by family for so long (and in some cases still facing rejection), but continuing to love, reach out, and pave the way of acceptance for others in the process. His heart is full of love and grace despite what he has gone through. He had such a good and loving energy that we all felt uplifted when he left. We felt like we had been visited by an extraordinarily fun saint!