How would you want to be remembered?

This was written on my coffee sleeve, which was wrapped around my large Amy's Blend decaf from Caribou Coffee, this morning. During the "school year," Cyndi and I get a regular Saturday morning visit to the coffee shop, after we drop the kids off at Religious Ed. We've been doing this for almost two years now. I'm not sure I ever pay attention to any of the writing on my coffee; cup, sleeve, or otherwise. But this one caught my eye. If not for the chain's "Susan G. Koman for the Cure" campaign, the pink sleeve may have gone unnoticed. Here's the rest:

Amy Erickson was way more than a roastmaster. She was one of us. She was intense and uncompromising when it came to coffee. She helped create our coffee standards and relentlessly pursued the perfect cup. Her passion for coffee was only exceeded by her passion for life--a life she lost to breast cancer. So each year we create this amazing coffee to remember Amy and to her fund a cure. We think she'd approve.

I didn't know Amy Erickson. I do know a couple of women who have battled breast cancer: my mom's close friend, Jackie; Cyndi's cousin, Holly; and a teacher/friend of mine from grad school, Sandi. I don't know if "battle" is the right term or not. I'm not using it to offend anyone. All three of them are survivors. Is that the right term too? Maybe it is.

As I understand it, Caribou Coffee donates 10% of the profits on all sales of Amy's Blend to the Susan G. Koman Foundation. They not only have coffee, but one quick look at their website, and I see they offer the "Amy's Collection"; teas, mugs, t-shirts. There's also a short clip of Amy's mother who thanks the team at Caribou for all they have done in her daughter's name over the past 10 years since she died. Amy must have been a nice woman, an inspiring person, for a company to do this. It doesn't feel like they are doing it for publicity purposes either, which I am sure her family appreciates.

The magnitude makes me stop and wonder what inspiration I may offer to the people around me to launch a similar campaign. Not to minimize or take away from the spirit of the Amy's Blend campaign. Not to make this about me. It did what it was supposed to do, I expect. Make me stop and contemplate. Make me think about what I bring to the table. Make me feel a bit of inspiration from a person I never met. Make me be better.

All this, from a pink sleeve, wrapped around a cup of coffee, shared with my wife, on a quiet Saturday morning.