Day 4

I have to be honest... yesterday I had one of those days that makes it very difficult to figure out what to be grateful for.  From the moment I peeled my eyes open after a restless night, struggled to get a crabby boy out of bed without losing my cool, and almost (horrifyingly) drove past a stopped-with-lights-flashing school bus (thank goodness I noticed at the last minute... the driver laid on the horn!), I knew I was in trouble.  I'm a firm believer that when you wake up in the morning, you can choose how you're going to approach the day... with a smile on your face and rolling with the punches or trudging around with a frown and a storm cloud over your head.  I just couldn't get it together though!

That's when I got a phone call from a long lost friend.  Alright, not so long and lost... we were roommates off and on for the last 15+ years and had been for the last 7 years before we both bought our own houses 4 months ago.  We both let "life" get in the way and we went from seeing each other every day to two phone calls in 4 months.  I was in a horrible mood but I invited him to join us for dinner and amazingly enough, he was free!

Dinner was quickly thrown together (I hadn't planned on company) and we caught up on what's been going on in our lives since we moved apart.  It was a great conversation that even my son was an active part of.  During our conversation, I was able to talk about things that I normally would be cautious about disclosing.  There's security in a friendship that has survived so many ups and down's.  We've lived together and been with each other through good times and bad.  I finally found what I was so truly Grateful for...

True friendship.

And that's what I was able to Give back.

Day 3

Today I am Grateful I can say "I have too much".  Honestly... I really do have way too much!  How many of us can say this and do we think about the people who have virtually nothing including necessities?

Just a few months ago, my son and I moved into our new home.  I could not believe how much stuff we had in our old place!  It was a fast move (only two weeks notice) so we didn't have time to pare down before the big day and even then, realistically speaking, I wonder how much of a difference it would have made.  Everything in our old home had a place so it didn't look like much to our eyes anymore.  Moving day quickly lost it's novelty as boxes and boxes piled into our new place while it seemed a dent wasn't even made in our old house.  And to this day, we still have boxes that we haven't even cracked open.  That's a pretty good indication that this is stuff that probably isn't very necessary or important.  But I'm seeing this as a very advantageous position to be in though!  How easy will it be to open up those boxes and, keeping in mind that I haven't needed or wanted it for the last four months, make the decision to "donate" or "toss"?  Okay, maybe not super easy but if I do one box at a time... and maybe recruit a back-up for reinforcement... maybe it'll be easy?

I've decided to start here...

These are extra scarves and hats that my son and I don't wear (some even still have price tags on them) so have decided to Give them to people who could use them.  We live in Northwestern Ontario and, boy oh boy, has winter ever reared it's ugly head... not so much in the form of snow but definitely as in frigid temperatures.  Tomorrow morning on my way to work, I'm going to leave the stuffed bag hanging on the door of the homeless shelter and I hope they with find loving bodies.

Day 2

*This is a post I was hoping to get to publish yesterday...

 

Today, I am Grateful for having a skill that enables me to earn a little extra income.


Over 15 years ago, I went to hairdressing school determined that that was my chosen career path. I loved the creativity and being able to give people a bit of a pick-me-up, especially when they really needed it. But it wasn't meant to be. I quickly realized that I had developed allergies to the chemicals and products I was constantly being exposed to. Back in the 80's perms were big (pun intended!) and alcohol-laden hairspray was the rage. It tooks 5 years of the sore, cracking skin on my hands to finally be too much and I quit.


I kept my license though and have continued to do my family's and closest friends hair. I did my friend's hair tonight and because it is close to Christmas, he paid me. On my way home, I went out of my way to drive to where I knew a Salvation Army Christmas Kettle would be set up to Give half if what I made. They are really struggling to meet their goal this year (as are other organisations) and even though I may feel I'm also struggling a little as well, I realize it's mostly that this time of year puts pressure on people to shop... on ME to shop. It was only a small amount that I gave but that was money well spent.


Yes, I am very fortunate to have that skill that allows me to make that extra bit of income. I've decided that from this point forward, I will always donate a portion of what I make using that skill.

Day 1

Tonight was one of my favourite nights of the Christmas season!  The company I work for sponsors an underpriveledged family through a local service.  The company isn't very big but I'm always impressed how people will do what they can to ensure the family chosen for us has a great holiday.

When the announcement comes out and the request for donations comes out every year, it feels like I'm never quite able to help financially as much as I would love to.  I'm a single mom and live on a pretty tight budget throughout the year but I am so very Grateful for my job, especially in today's economic mess. It allows me to raise my son relatively comfortably even if he, at 9 years old, doesn't always see it that way.  I do manage to give a bit but the thing that I do have and am so willing to Give to this family is my time.

Tonight, two of my co-workers, my son and I went shopping for the gifts for our sponsored family.  We were able to purchase clothes, bed linens, toys and gift cards.  I love looking at all the nice things in our cart knowing that I would be excited to receive them as gifts but I have to say that my favourite is to give gift cards for groceries.  So often my cupboards are running bare a couple of days before my next payday, I can't imagine what it's like to truly struggle to feed a family without a payday in site.

I hope this family has a very Merry Christmas and a great start to a New Year!