This year for Christmas our family has decided to give instead of get. It feels good to me, and right in so many ways. Its not that I don't enjoy getting, because I do. Who doesn't. But the way I figured it is, we'll all adults now and probably don't "need" anything. So why not give back. I sent a note out to the masses that is the Wraspir Clan and unilaterally they said, yes, let's do it.
This year's charity is one that is very near and dear to our hearts. My cousin Cindy passed away from cancer. She was one of those people who once you met her, you'd never EVER forget her. She had live by the balls and was pursuing all things Cindy. She did everything in her life with such passion and grace, that it seemed only natural that she would then become a professional Tango Dancer. I was only fortunate one time to see a video of her and I wish I had been able to witness her in action.
That all being said, our family has chosen to donate to her memorial fund. The Cynthia Wraspir Memorial Scholarship Endowment through the University of Idaho.
But wait, there's much much more.
Geeksoft (not my phrase, but that of one of my favorite bloggers.) has a giving tree. This tree was put up last week and COVERED in little red tags with gender, age and gift they'd like. This is nothing out of the ordinary I suppose. But what truly surprised me is the amount of gifts that have appeared under the tree. A bike is out there. Someone bought some child who wanted a barbie bike, an actually BARBIE Bike. I get all choked up just typing this. As I glanced at this tree, and marveled in the giving of the people here, an idea struck me. Why don't I give? And so I've chosen two tags from the tree. A boy and a girl.
The boy, age 6 wants a Batman Action Figure. And the girl, age 11, wants a Scrapbook kit. Do these fit me or what? Okay, well maybe the batman action figure doesn't completely. BUT I have seen all the Batman movies, AND I have the Daffy Duck Batman Action figure that McDonald's put out some 22 years ago. So there.
It feels good to hold these two tags in my hand and imagine what it must be like to not have anything. What angst it must be to wake up on Christmas morning and not have anything? That Santa somehow missed our house. I, like many of you, were one of the fortunate one's who always had something at Christmas. It may not have been the brightest, most fanciest new toy on the block, but there was always something. I guess I never really thought how fortunate, even in the tight years, I was. And so now I 'm giving back. Next year, I'd like to host a family for the holidays. Perhaps my new company will consider it. Perhaps I'll get my friends involved and we'll go and host a family. So many opportunities to give back during the holidays.
And here's my biggest issue: Why do we only really put our hearts into giving during the holidays? Why do food drives increase only during the holidays? Aren't these people needy year round? And so because it bugs me, instead of complain about it, I'm going to go see what I can do about it for the entire year. It might be a year of growth for me. One in which my karma bank gets fuller and fuller with good deeds. Wanna join me?
This year's charity is one that is very near and dear to our hearts. My cousin Cindy passed away from cancer. She was one of those people who once you met her, you'd never EVER forget her. She had live by the balls and was pursuing all things Cindy. She did everything in her life with such passion and grace, that it seemed only natural that she would then become a professional Tango Dancer. I was only fortunate one time to see a video of her and I wish I had been able to witness her in action.
That all being said, our family has chosen to donate to her memorial fund. The Cynthia Wraspir Memorial Scholarship Endowment through the University of Idaho.
But wait, there's much much more.
Geeksoft (not my phrase, but that of one of my favorite bloggers.) has a giving tree. This tree was put up last week and COVERED in little red tags with gender, age and gift they'd like. This is nothing out of the ordinary I suppose. But what truly surprised me is the amount of gifts that have appeared under the tree. A bike is out there. Someone bought some child who wanted a barbie bike, an actually BARBIE Bike. I get all choked up just typing this. As I glanced at this tree, and marveled in the giving of the people here, an idea struck me. Why don't I give? And so I've chosen two tags from the tree. A boy and a girl.
The boy, age 6 wants a Batman Action Figure. And the girl, age 11, wants a Scrapbook kit. Do these fit me or what? Okay, well maybe the batman action figure doesn't completely. BUT I have seen all the Batman movies, AND I have the Daffy Duck Batman Action figure that McDonald's put out some 22 years ago. So there.
It feels good to hold these two tags in my hand and imagine what it must be like to not have anything. What angst it must be to wake up on Christmas morning and not have anything? That Santa somehow missed our house. I, like many of you, were one of the fortunate one's who always had something at Christmas. It may not have been the brightest, most fanciest new toy on the block, but there was always something. I guess I never really thought how fortunate, even in the tight years, I was. And so now I 'm giving back. Next year, I'd like to host a family for the holidays. Perhaps my new company will consider it. Perhaps I'll get my friends involved and we'll go and host a family. So many opportunities to give back during the holidays.
And here's my biggest issue: Why do we only really put our hearts into giving during the holidays? Why do food drives increase only during the holidays? Aren't these people needy year round? And so because it bugs me, instead of complain about it, I'm going to go see what I can do about it for the entire year. It might be a year of growth for me. One in which my karma bank gets fuller and fuller with good deeds. Wanna join me?
1 comments:
That's an awesome idea! I did the shoebox gifts from Chick-fil-a and we've adopted a family of five at work.
Post a Comment