Leap of Faith sparks Hug Your Kids Day

July 6, 2008
Reprinted from rgj.com

She's been rooted her whole life: Married for 23 years, a mother of three, a solid background in business and marketing and a career that took off years ago. After six years as BusinessWeek.com's marketing columnist and just as many years on the national speaker's circuit, she just up and quit. That was last fall. At the time, she said she felt there was something else she was supposed to be doing and she needed to clear her head and her calendar to figure it out.

After giving notice, she began cleaning up her home office and came across a scrap of paper that reminded her that a very important 10th anniversary was just around the corner. And then she says the whole scenario just began to unfold.

Ten years ago this month, Michelle Nichols lost her then 8-year old son, Mark, to brain cancer.

"It sounds so ominous, and yet it was so quick,” she tells me. "He came home from camp with what we thought was the flu. Eleven days later they were telling me it was over. And he was gone."

After Mark's death, the family moved to Houston for a new job opportunity, and, five years later, they placed two billboards along major Texas highways saying simply "Hug your kids today. We wish we could. Mark Nichols 1989-1998."

The family was drawn back to Nevada, and that scrap of paper Michelle found cleaning up her office last fall sparked the idea to make the 10th anniversary of Mark's death even bigger. And the National Hug Your Kids Today campaign was born.

In six months time, Michelle has written and published a book about the five lessons she's learned from the experience of losing a child. She's orchestrated a media blitz nationwide that will involve billboards, book signings, the dedication of a National Hug Your Kids Today holiday, contests and even The Biggest Little Hug in the World for the Guinness book of world records.

"You have to get your priorities straight," Michelle said. "You need to understand how work fits into the big picture, that laughter is important, and that you have to hug your kids every day. Never take it for granted that they'll be there tomorrow because you really never know."

One of the most predictable things about life is that it always is unpredictable. There is no doubt in my mind about that. When you start a family, you wonder if the timing is right. When you add to one, you wonder if you can love another child as much. When you lose a member, you always regret the time lost. Living life with no regrets has got to be the goal.

So, as Michelle said, Hug your kids today! National Hug Your Kids Day is July 21. Every family is invited to take part in the Biggest Little Hug in the World at Wingfield Park in Reno at 5:30 that evening.
For more information on Hug Your Kids Today, go to www.hugyourkidstoday.com

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Erin Breen is a Reno freelance writer and anchor of KTVN Channel 2 News This Morning.

Note: Erin Breen contributed to the handbook: Hug Your Kids Today! 5 Key Lessons for Every Working Parent