When Jennifer Westby's mother died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage two years ago at the age of 60, it sent the Spanaway woman's life into a spin.

"It was my first major loss (of a life)," Westby said. "(It was) completely unexpected."

The grief brought on by the loss had Westby teetering on the brink of slipping into a deep depression. But she found a way to deal with the grief.

"I chose to do something positive with it," the wife and mother of two said. "It saved my life."

The 19th through the 24th of every month - the span of the final six days of her mother's life - Westby performs random acts of kindness throughout the local community. Most of what she does is financially based: meeting complete strangers and handing them cash or simply picking up the tab for others in line behind her at a local coffee shop. Most of the encounters leave her with a feeling of great fulfillment and joy.

"The connections (with others) are uncanny," Westby said.

In addition to doing her random acts of kindness, Westby also wrote a book about her experiences while going through the grieving process. 6 Days of Kindness: Grieving with a Love and a Purpose, which is due out in two months, is essentially a journal of Westby's entries while she was dealing with the grief. She also founded Moms 6 Days, a nonprofit that aims to help others cope with the loss of a loved one.

"This (experience) gave me my purpose, my calling," Westby said.

Now she wants to reach out to those dealing with grief in the local military community.

"Grief is different for everybody - nobody is going to fit into my mold," Westby said. "But I feel I'm meant to share my experience."

Westby is in the midst of hosting a couple of upcoming seminars that detail each guest speaker's process of grieving and offer insight to those struggling with a loss. There is already a seminar scheduled for next month, and Westby is currently working out the details. She plans on offering military members and their families a discount.

"This is what I want to get into," she said of working with military families. "I feel at home when it comes to talking about grief. I'm trying to give people a different perspective."

For more dates, times and locations of Westby's upcoming seminars, email her at jen@moms6days.com or visit www.moms6days.com for more information.