Funny how thinking about this "29 days of giving" challenge immediately changes how you think over all. Not only am I thinking in terms of "what can I do or give today?" as well as "how can I use this as a learning experience for my children?" I also find myself realizing how often and how easily others give to me on a daily basis.
Wendy (and her family) had a Memorial Day cookout yesterday and invited us. Unfortunately, I had to work so we didn't get to go. I was pretty bummed, we are really close to her and her family, and always have fun when we spend time with them. So this morning, her mom calls and invites us to another cookout TODAY. I was confused "I thought you did that yesterday?" They did... they're doing it again because I had to work. Now what an awesome gift is that?
So, today... what are we giving?
Terra: Well let's see... Terra is (willingly and excitedly) parting with her beloved baby swing for the swingset... it's going for Wendy's girls. Terra's been really resisting the idea of giving it away, because it truly is her beloved swing... but she's too big, too old, for it and it's much easier for her to use the other regular swings anyway. I was proud of her when she volunteered to give it to them. She's my youngest, but she's taking to this challenge whole heartedly, and the look in her eyes when she got so excited about "giving it to Olivia" was yet another gift ... to me :)
Kassi & Bren: Kassi and Brendon, so far, haven't been having a good day, and so far their big idea is to treat each other (and everyone else) like crap. Obviously, we'll have to work on that - I'll let you know how that comes out.
Kory: Kory has gone to a neighbor's house to help the elderly grandfather (who is raising his grandson) dismantle and put away a tent they'd set up in the yard for his grandson's birthday party. Actually, Kory does a lot for/with that particular family.
Scott: Scott's gift was to me... the gift of laundry. He has folded 2 loads and has a load in each machine. That's a big one, he doesn't DO laundry (unless he's forgotten to take in his uniforms for laundering and I haven't noticed that he's run out lol.) Seriously, he's an awesome guy, but he seriously does not do laundry.
Erin: Now for me. Heh... Mom always goes last huh? My gift is less than tangible... I'm going to let something go that normally, I'd have to 'bring up' just to make a point to someone. My gorgeous Scotty was in a pretty rank mood yesterday, and hurt my feelings. Normally today would be another tense day because I'd have to make sure he knew that I was upset about yetserday. Yes, I know, fruitless, and causes more damage than the original act. So I'm just going to pretend it never happened, and give Scotty a free pass... the laundry proves that I don't need to "make my point" anyway!
Addendum: I decided to go to the dollar store and buy some of those little memo/note books so we could all keep up with the things we gave/did during a day. Especially for the kids, since they're at school all day... I didn't want them to lose track. Of course, rather than getting 6 memo books for $2, I spent more like $20, and ended up with a 1/2 mile walk home in 80 degree sun, with 2 big bags of stuff. Kassi offered, about 1/2 way home, to carry the bags for me. That's her gift of the day :)
Now for Bren... he's pretty nonplussed about this whole project. *rolls eyes*
Addendum 2: Kory cleaned my entire house while I was at Wendy's house. It's so nice to come home to a neat tidy home. Now instead of concentrating on the bigger project of cleaning the whole mess, I can get down to the smaller, less frequently accomplished tasks, like base boards :)
Bren finally decided on his gift for the day too. Wendy has a 6 yr old son who absolutely fell in love with a particular Hot Wheels car that Bren has. Last time he was here he really wanted it - it's some car that's just like one from a movie (too fast too furious I think) so Bren took it with us and gave it to Chance today.
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