Since his daughter, Emma, was in second grade, Garth Callaghan has written inspirational notes on the napkins he packs with her lunch each day. He's promised her she'll get one every day until she graduates high school. Callaghan will keep that promise, even though doctors—who have diagnosed him with cancer three times in two years—give him just an eight percent chance of living another five years. 
 
 Since he's likely dying, and soon, he's started writing his lunch notes in advance. He needs 826 total; he's currently at 740. Just 86 more to go. 
 
 [via Because I Said I Would] ||||| Noah, the main character in the film "The Notebook," wrote a love letter every day of the year to win Allie's affection, but a real-life New Jersey man has outdone Ryan Gosling's beloved character. 
 
 Interested in ? Add as an interest to stay up to date on the latest news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest 
 
 Toms River resident Bill Bresnan, 74, has written a love letter every day to Kirsten Bresnan, 74, his wife of almost 40 years, and there are more than 10,000 of them filed chronologically in 25 boxes at their home. 
 
 And he continues to write them to this day. 
 
 "All the letters are signed, 'I love you, my darling' with an infinity sign," Bresnan told ABC News today. "They're essentially a love diary. For example, I could pick out a day in 1982, and it’ll begin with the restaurant we ate in or a movie we saw and then a reaction to that." 
 
 Elara Mosquera/ABC News 
 
 The daily expressions of love began as notes scribbled on napkins and small pieces of paper he gave to his wife over coffee while commuting together shortly after they met, Bresnan said. They met while he was teaching a class to license students in the security industry. 
 
 "She was this beautiful Northern European woman who struck me like a bolt of lightning," he said. 
 
 Their relationship blossomed. They had a simple wedding in the city and have lived happily ever after since, he said. 
 
 "We've never had a fight once in almost 40 years of marriage," Bresnan said. "We might disagree on something, but we talk about it rather than argue." 
 
 Elara Mosquera/ABC News 
 
 Bresnan's never a missed giving Kirsten a card, he said. Even when they're away, he makes sure to send postcards or write letters in advance. 
 
 "My biggest fear now, given my age, is forgetting -- but luckily I'm still pretty sharp," he said. 
 
 One of his favorites out of the 10,000-plus letters were a series of 50 cards, one for each of the 50 days before her 50th birthday, he said. 
 
 The daily cards are part of Bresnan's recipe for making a relationship last, among other things, he said. 
 
 "The key to any relationship is that you both have to work at it every day," Bresnan said. "And never go to bed mad. Talk about everything. Everything should get resolved before your goodnight kiss." 
 
 Courtesy Bill Bresnan 
 
 The couple continues to keep the romance alive through little things they do together in their daily routine, such as playing 'Boggle' over breakfast and having candlelit dinners with wine, he said. 
 
 Bresnan also goes big once in a while. 
 
 "We once reenacted the Katherine Hepburn movie 'Summertime'" Bresnan said. "I took Kirsten to Italy. We sailed across the Mediterranean, took a train to Venice, wandered the city, had pizza at San Marco Piazza and literally did everything in that movie together." 
 
 He also gave her a friendship ring featuring hieroglyphics he saw during a trip to Egypt that were an expression of a pharaoh's eternal love for his son. 
 
 Elara Mosquera/ABC News 
 
 Despite the countless good times, the couple has weathered many a storm together, as well, he said. 
 
 "When the doctor told me I had cancer a few years ago, Kirsten was right next to me holding my hand," Bresnan said. "It wasn't, 'You have cancer," it was, 'We have cancer.' And I did the same thing for her when she got cancer a few years later." 
 
 Bresnan hopes that their love story will hope inspire younger couples, who seem to be more in love with their gadgets, he said. 
 
 "I see youngsters at restaurants sitting across from each other buried in their screens but never talking or looking at each other," Bresnan said. "I want them to enjoy the time they have with each other and treasure it." 
 
 Though Bresnan has already sent his wife plenty of Valentine's Day cards before the date, he said they'll still do something simple to celebrate. 
 
 "We'll probably have a nice dinner, a special bottle of wine and a piece of chocolate," Bresnan said. "We're past the craving for jewelry and expensive nonsense. We just enjoy simply being together." ||||| By Daryn Kagan , Contributing Writer 
 
 About five months ago, Ryan Garcia’s world changed forever. 
 
 He and his wife, Lindsey, became first-time parents to Isla Quinn. 
 
 “She’s gorgeous!” he gushed to me the other day. 
 
 So what’s the big deal, you might ask? Millions of men become fathers every year. Ah, but this new dad has let the love for his daughter inspire a revolution. A kindness revolution. 
 
 “I was sitting on my couch at the end of the year,” he remembers, “thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Should I try to lose weight? Do something else predictable?” 
 
 He looked over at his sweet baby girl and inspiration hit him. “I decided I wanted to do something that would inspire her in the future. I wanted to be a better person.” 
 
 That’s how 2012 became his year of random acts of kindness. Each day for this calendar year, he’s committed to doing something nice for someone else. Sometimes, it’s for people he knows. 
 
 “I tracked down my sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Plecas,” he said, “and wrote him a letter thanking him for being my favorite teacher ever. He had a way of making learning fun. I’ll never forget him, and he needed to know that.” 
 
 Ryan has also sent a letter to a family who lost their son while he was serving in Afghanistan. “I wanted to send my condolences and thank them for everything their family has sacrificed, he explained. 
 
 There have been funny days, too. Like the time he made a point to compliment 25 total strangers. That was as great as the day he stood on the corner and offered free hugs. 
 
 If it sounds like quite the journey, it is. Ryan is sharing his kind acts with the world on this blog, 366randomacts.org (online at 366randomacts.org). He invites you to follow along. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter. In fact, for every “like” and “follower” he gets, he’s donating a dime to charity. 
 
 This giving thing has a way of growing. Ryan figures it’s the least he can do. “I never meant to do any of this for me,” he says. “I just can’t believe how much I’m getting out of it. The little bit of kindness I put out seems to multiply the way it comes back to me.” 
 
 “And what about Baby Isla?” I ask. “She’s too young to appreciate her dad doing any of this.” 
 
 “That’s the main reason I’m doing the blog,” he says. “When she’s old enough, she’ll see all the stories, photos and videos. She’ll see how she inspired one man to become a better person.” 
 
 This kindness streak is such a fun ride, Ryan is suggesting you try it out for yourself. 
 
 “You know what people will say to that,” I offer, “it’s nice for this guy, but I’m way too busy to fit all this in.” 
 
 “No one is busier than I am,” he counters. “I’ve got a newborn, a demanding full-time job, groups I belong to, and I work out. I’ve found out that being nice doesn’t take extra time.” 
 
 So are you in? If your ride is anything like Ryan’s, sounds like putting a little kindness out there will take you places you never imagined. 
 
 Daryn Kagan is the creator of DarynKagan.com. She is the author of “What’s Possible! 50 True Stories of People Who Dared To Dream They Could Make a Difference.”
– Garth Callaghan has been leaving inspirational notes with his daughter's lunch since her days in kindergarten—but now that he's dying of cancer, they both know that one day the notes will have to stop. So he's writing hundreds of them ahead of time to fulfill his promise of giving 13-year-old Emma a daily note until she graduates from high school, Gawker reports. The Virginia man needs 826 in all; so far he has 740. "At the end of the day, these notes might be the only thing my daughter has left of me," he tells the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Among his notes: "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. —B. Franklin" "Do or do not. There is no try. —Yoda" "Dear Emma, Everything in moderation. Except Awesome. You can never have too much Awesome. Love, Dad" "Dear Emma, Sometimes when I need a miracle, I look into your eyes and realize I've already created one. Love, Dad" Doctors give him only an 8% chance of living another 5 years, and he recalls being heartbroken one day after surgery when he saw that Emma had ripped up one of his napkins. But it turned out that she was just tearing out parts he had written on and saving them in her composition book. "My daughter’s a teenager now, so at some point, the notes might cease to be cool," he said. But at this point, "for her and I, this is a special thing that we share." Click to see more notes on his webpage, Facebook page, or Twitter feed.