Gift #30 - March 28th

My final gift was a gift I never thought I would every make.  On Monday, I said good-bye to a former boss and mentor.  He died suddenly last week.  I couldn't believe the news when I heard it.  It didn't make sense; it felt so random.  He was only 50 years old.  I spent last week thinking about the role this man played in my life as a young professional.  I was only 18 went I went to work for him.  So much of who I became and what I went on to do was because of the time I spent working for him.  I worked for him for six years...a lifetime at that stage in your life!  When I went to work for him, his wife was pregnant with their first son.  On Monday, sitting in a packed church, their first born, now almost 18, stood to speak about his father.  I cried.  When I thought I was done, I cried again.  I cried at the loss of a husband.  I cried at the loss of a friend.  And I cried at the loss of a father.  Seeing his boys as young men made my heart ache for them and swell with pride for him at the same time.

When my mentor sold the company he had created (and I worked for), he sent me a paperweight.  He had received the paperweight from a client for one of the company's first successful marketing efforts.  It sat on his uncluttered, tidy desk for as long as I could remember.  It was a treasure to me.  For over a decade I have kept that paperweight and the note he sent with it.  Last week, I opened the bottom drawer of my desk and his note sat there staring at me, right on top.  I decided that my final gift would be to his sons. 

Today, I wrote the boys a letter about my time with their father and what an impact he had on my life.  I also enclosed the paperweight.  No object will ever replace what they lost but I hope when they look at it, they will be warmed by the memories of a man who meant so much to so many.

Each one of us has someone in our past or present that has impacted our lives.  Take a few moments and write them a note. Today.

Gift #29 - March 27th

John & I have a fantastic contractor for various home repair or improvement jobs.  Bobby came to us as a referral and we were very pleased with his work.  He's young, married, and has two small children.  Over the last two years he has done a number of jobs for us.  He has fixed a leaky bathroom sink, repaired foundation walls, built a fence, ran an outdoor outlet, the list goes on and on.  With each job he is on time, neat, and within budget (unless I make a change!).  For those of you who have had to deal with getting these types of jobs done, you know the above mentioned qualities are hard to come by.  If you own an old house like we do, these contractors become like family. 

The more I get to know Bobby the more I realize what a generous person he & his wife are.  I was relaying a recent story to John about how they took in dogs from a deceased relative and provided a home for a teen in need.  John said, "That's really neat.  We should get them a basket of product".  What John means is, I need to go through my stash of promo product vendors give us and share.  What a great idea!  I did a little rummaging and found a few new bottles of men's & women's fragrances along with a few other of the latest-and-greatest products.  John did his magic and put them together in this great basket.  I couldn't decide if I wanted to tell Bobby about my project or if I just wanted to give it to him.  On my way out of the house (he's currently building our front fence), I handed it to him.  I said the gift was for he and his lovely wife.  I told him we appreciated his hard work and we trusted him which was hard to come by.  He high fived me and smiled.  It was a good gift giving day.

Gift #28 - March 26th

Several months ago I noticed one of Anna's teachers, "Ms. J", reading a book by financial guru Suze Orman.  I was surprised and impressed with her interest.  I didn't say anything to her but filed it away.  Knowing I was a CPA, a few weeks ago, Ms. J asked me about some of her personal financial strategies.  We visited a while.  She asked me if I had every read any of her books (which I had) and mentioned she wanted to read more of her.  So, I went to my personal library and pulled out The Road to Wealth by Suze Orman.  The next day, I gave the book to Ms. J.  I told her to read & enjoy it; when she was done, pass it on to someone.  :)

Gift #27 - March 23rd

Oh, today was so much fun!  I got to take my sweet Anna with me on this gift expedition. 

Background:  Many of my friends are CPA's.  Over the last few weeks I have seen comments on Facebook from them like "The dark sky matches the circles under my eyes" or "I'm exhausted and it's only Monday".  I remember the feeling...public accounting is demanding and this time of year is tough.  The longs days are starting to take their toll and the weather is turning nice which makes it even tougher to be inside.

The gift:  I decided to go to one of my favorite bakeries and have them make cookies that look like the sun and write "4/18" on them.  April 17th is the tax filing deadline and a day of celebration for my CPA friends.  For those of you that think I made a mistake, you are right April 15th is the normal tax filing deadline but this year it is the 17th.  Which means, on April 18th my friends will have another tax season BEHIND them!!  (Also, if you think I have a pastry addiction because I have visited this bakery 3 times for gifts, you are right too.  Pastries are my weakness...I don't eat them a lot because I can't just eat one).  Ok...back to the gift!

Anna & I picked up the cookies and I penned a little poem on the box top - Sunshine, sunshine I miss you!  Sunshine, sunshine I long to kiss you!  Sunshine, sunshine the time is near.  Sunshine, sunshine April 18th is almost here! These iced sugar cookies are my absolute favorite.  I knew my friends would love them.  

Anna & I arrived at the office and waited for our friends to start trickling out.  And then they came...one by one.  They liked the cookies but the real gift turned out to be my little toddler who wowed them with her smiles, tutu skirt, and little baby waddle.  In fact, the cookies were just an afterthought!  How funny....I think I could have skipped them all together.  Well, I just got this text picture from my friend so, maybe not!

Gift #26 - March 22nd

With only 5 gifts left I feel like every last one counts!  At the same time, I'm lost for ideas.  My one great idea will be for Gift #27 and I ordered them today (stay tuned!).  When I started thinking about today's gift, I kept going through things I've already done.  This afternoon, I let a few extra cars go in front of me while leaving the mall.  I thought that was a good gift.  Then I thought about leaving a note on the car next to me.  It finally dawned on me that we all have little opportunities every day to give to each other.  So what if you gave this gift yesterday, do it again!

Today I received an email from a cool, kid-centered, creative, eco-friendly, women-owned, Wisconsin based art supply company - Artterro.  The company makes art kits for children from beautiful, quality art materials.  Although the majority of these kits are geared towards children older than Anna, I love staying on top of what they are doing.  Back to the email...Artterro has started a campaign to raise $30,000 by Earth Day.  This goal will help them pay for the next production run at the non-profit Goodwill Industries.  How cool is that?  This is a great company and, as my gift today, I want to share and promote them with my readers.  So, check out the link, order a few kits and help support a domestic, earth friendly company!

Gift #25 - March 19th

Some of you may have noticed my "30 Days of Giving" has not always coincided with 30 sequential calendar days.  Yes, it's true, I have skipped a day here and there.  Like yesterday, for example.  It was a busy day.  Up early for church, then to grandparents to pick up baby, back to the house for nap, dishes, laundry, up from nap and on to birthday party.  Back from party, nap again (me too) then up for more clean up, play, baby bath, and dinner.  By the time I remembered, the day had passed.  I hope, dear readers, you are not too disappointed.  Although I set out to do 30 gifts in 30 sequential days it just didn't work out.  For me, it was more important I continue on this project rather than give up the moment I skipped a day.  So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  On with Gift #25!

I've been waiting to give this gift for a while.  I dreamed it up one afternoon and thought it was just a fun idea.  I decided to go to the library and put money in the book What to Expect When You Are Expecting.  The idea resonated with me because I love the library and want to support/encourage folks that go there.  Also, I remember the feeling of being a new momma-to-be, reading all the "How-to" books, and feeling excited & overwhelmed.  I thought it would be fun if a momma-to-be opened the book and a crisp bill fell out. 

So, today I went to one of my favorite libraries within the Central Arkansas Library System.  I looked up the location of the book in the online card catalog to find...it was already checked out!  Yikes!  I went to the baby section anyway.  I thought I would find something.  I scanned the rows...there is was...Raising Baby Green: The Earth Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care.  What a cool book!  I scanned the contents which mirrored one of my favorite books The Complete Organic Pregnancy and decided this was the book.  I took out a crisp $5 bill and tucked it in along with a little note.  This was a fun little gift anyone could do.  What would you do if you opened your latest library book and money fell out?

Gift #24 - March 17th

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Today, the Arkansas Sustainability Network hosted a Seed Swap along with Conserving Arkansas Agricultural Heritage.  I've been looking forward to this fun event and couldn't wait to catch up with friends.  I, unfortunately, did not have any seeds to swap.  I did, however, have some tomatoe cages!  My plan was to swap some cages for seeds but later I decided the cages would be my gift for today!  So, that's what I did.  Two cages went home with someone for tomatoes and one went home with someone for pole beans.  Hopefully my gift recipients will remember me come harvest time!