29 gifts

Thursday, May 31, 2012- Day 2

Today, my gift was simple. I offered to take my daughter on a bike ride. She loves riding around our neighborhood and often asks me to do it and I often tell her "not today." But this evening, I asked her if she wanted to go (of course she did!) and we went. And we laughed and it was fun. She was happy so that's all that really matters.


Wednesday, May 30, 2012- Day 1


Today I am starting my 29 gifts in 29 days challenge. I have been struggling to find the right day to start this. I am naturally  a big "giver" but the point of this exercise is to give with the right intentions and I will admit that I'm not always a gracious when it comes to giving. Especially when it comes to my kid's school, I am often a begrudging giver...because it seems as though the school is constantly asking for something.
I used to give so freely and happily and most times I still do, but somewhere over the past few years I've become more selective with my giving. It probably has something to do with the fact that I have had relationships with people where I continuously gave and gave and gave and they continuously took and took and took without ever giving back. But, here is the lesson in that. Perhaps they were just really good at receiving. And perhaps I wasn't giving with the right intentions.
In her book, Cami Walker talks about how you are supposed to give without expecting anything at all in return. Simply giving someone something and not expecting a thank you, a reciprocating gift, or even giving to make yourself look or feel better is challenging!
So, I am starting this journey today with a gift for my sister-in-law. She and I are not close even though she's been married to my husband's brother for six years. The main way we communicate is through "liking" each other's posts of facebook. Kinda pathetic. She recently graduated nursing school and her birthday is coming up in a few days, so I thought it would be nice to send her a small gift. I chose a cute polka-dot wallet that had her initial embroidered on the front and a nice card. I hope it brightens her day when she recieves it. -Stacy