BANDAGES FOR THE SOUL

Surprise Mom, Grandma, or a teacher with words of wisdom. Wanting to give her mother a gift that would inspire her throughout the year, 12-year-old Mikayla Mitchell of Westfield, Massachusetts, created a "first-aid kit for the spirit." She took a bandage box and stapled on a new label with the directions "Apply directly to the mind." She and her three brothers then stuffed the box with inspirational sayings and notes of encouragement and love for their mother, JoEllen, to read whenever she felt the need.

"It's really enlightening to see what quotes my children picked out for me," says JoEllen.

Some of her favorite inscriptions include "Best Mom Ever!" (from Tyler, age 16), "Light tomorrow with today" (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, from Joey, 9), and "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall" (Confucius, from Mikayla).

To make your own soulful first-aid kit, cut bandage shapes from colored paper, write out motivating quotes and well-wishes, and present them in a doctored-up bandage box.

JoEllen keeps the box on her desk at her office. "It's nice to open it during the day and have that connection with my kids," she says.

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