Tag: giving

Making a list

by Karen, posted in family, tweens
Back in 2007, when there was still one believer in the family

I’ve been working on my Christmas gift list recently, and I’ve warned the children that Christmas will be, um, leaner this year than in the past, so they should be prepared. I guess I kind of went a little overboard last year, and am trying not to repeat that this year, especially since the big guy in the red suit won’t be putting in an appearance. This year, we know.

I don’t know what kind of a reaction that I expected from them, but as so often happens, my kids surprised me.

“Oh, okay, Mom.” That was it, from both kids. I guess I expected some questions, at least, but no, they were fine with it. Moved right on.

I guess it’s just me then, feeling bad. This is our first personal “Year Without a Santa Claus”. Last year, right after the holiday my daughter approached me and uttered those words that every mother dreads (but every father welcomes):  “Mom, you and dad are Santa Claus, right?”

Sigh.

After I told her to go play and I’d get back to her, I furtively placed a call to my husband at work, relayed the devastating question, asking, “What do you think? She’s only ten! Should I tell her the truth?” and he said, “Of course! She’s ten! We should have told her years ago!”.

And right there, folks, is the difference between fathers and mothers (if I may be so bold as to apply our parental reactions to that of all parents).

I told her the truth.

She took it well. At the end, she said, “But the Easter Bunny, she’s real, right?”

🙂

The rule of tree…I mean three

by Karen, posted in education, friends, Someone's gotta say it, tweens

So, although I’d been complaining in an earlier post about the homework my daughter’s teachers had been assigning to the parents…I mean, the kids… I have to revisit my resentment some in light of the unexpected gifts that one of these assignments has had for us.

The (dreaded) Tree Project is the assignment to which I am referring (any mother who has had a child attending our local junior high school in the past 20 years or so will be familiar with this). After I heard some of the other moms talking about their efforts to help, like: “I spent 2 1/2 hours one Saturday afternoon driving my daughter around to get leaves!” for example (after I’d walked my daughter around the school yard for 15 minutes, got a mosquito bite, and called it a day), I was shamed off the bench and into the woods to help find leaves.

Toward this end, I asked a couple of work colleagues if they had any interesting trees in their yards that they’d be willing to ravage for leaves, nuts (extra credit!), bark, (same!), berries (same!)…you get the idea.

Well. They sure did.

  1. My friend Jody produced Pin Cherry leaves and then took a chance and loaned us a treasured little book, Advice from a Tree by Ilan Shamir. Last weekend we read this book together on the couch (with the TV off!), and talked about what it meant to “Be content with your natural beauty” and to “Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes“…oh yes, and to “Drink plenty of water“…even trees know this!
  2. My friend Sheri produced a Beech Tree leaf with the coveted beechnut to go along with it. She also sent Izzy and me a copy of the tree poem, which I am planning to read with her this weekend.
  3. My friend Doreen brought leaves from a Quaking Aspen tree.  Izzy now has all of her pages filled in her Leaf Project book, which was her goal. The gathering is done!

So, these are the tree gifts: a book, a poem…and remembering what a great gift good friends are. 🙂

Heart Rocks

by Karen, posted in family, friends
Heart rock from Susan

I started collecting heart-shaped rocks a few years ago. I have them in all shapes and sizes; many I found at the beach myself, but some are gifts from friends who know of my collection. These gifts are actually the best ones that I have. This is my most recent addition: from my friend Susan. She found it at the beach after Hurricane Earl (didn’t) hit.

One thing that I’ve found helpful when looking for heart shaped rocks is not to be too rigid; it’s not likely that you will find a perfectly heart-shaped rock. What I’m looking for is something…approaching (hmm, this is somehow giving me deja vu for math of some sort…calculus maybe? I can’t think why) a heart shape. Keep an open mind (I’m just sayin’).

Did you know that there are books about heart-shaped rocks? My son gifted me with one recently. There is even a (well, at least one) blog about collecting heart rocks: Farm Girl Fare. At over 300, she has me beat, but I do have a half filled (reusable!) shopping full of them at this moment.

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New baby gift

by Karen, posted in books, family

Maybe you have a lot of new babies to buy for this year.  After a long time with the arrival of no babies within my personal sphere of (gift-buying) influence, I find that having just finished putting together a gift for one new baby girl, I have two more baby girls in the picture. One is here already, one is due in the fall.

I used to have a formula for baby gifts, kind of like the wedding day rhyme: “something old, something new…” Too bad that it has been so long, I can’t recall exactly what that formula was.

So, here’s my new top 10 list for what to put in a baby gift basket:

  1. If the sex of the baby is known, consider a pink or blue addition. You may want to have all of your gifts (and even the basket itself) be pink or blue, but I’ll leave that up to your discretion.
  2. Add something handmade to the basket. I’m a sporadic knitter, so I like to add a hat or a blanket if I have time to make it myself, or buy one at a craft show if I don’t.
  3. A favorite book, like (of course) Goodnight Moon, is always a nice addition to a baby gift basket. Pat the Bunny is another good choice. You might consider having your entire gift consist of children’s books that you like.
  4. Babies excrete. Often copiously. An extra outfit or a nightgown or jammies of some sort will be needed (soiled, stained, and appreciated) over and over .
  5. Babies spew. They will need bibs. Multipacks of bibs (because, did i mention? babies drool. A lot).
  6. Babies visually track. Get some colorful, cheerful toys that appeal to many senses: crackling, ringing, textured…and safe. Check that you are buying a toy appropriate for a newborn.
  7. Babies sleep. Blankies and extra jammies are always needed, often in large quantities (reference #4 and #5).
  8. Babies travel. A diaper bag, pack-type baby carrier, and so on may be nice.
  9. Babies get dirty, so bottles of baby wash, shampoo, little facecloths and hooded towels are another idea.
  10. Babies get red bums. Butt paste, desitin, vaseline…all might be helpful for their little bottoms at some point.

That’s it. What are some of your favorite baby gifts to give? to get?

food security

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food

one of my goals this year is to support food security. “The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing ‘when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life’. Commonly, the concept of food security is defined as including both physical and economic access to food that meets people’s dietary needs as well as their food preferences.”                                                   

source: http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/

so. starting small,  i gave a clementine to my friend and told her that i appreciate her. other food gifts i’ve given over the past month include: dinner to a family whose single parent suffering from complications from surgery, freshly baked bread, chicken soup to a friend who had been sick with respiratory symptoms…for weeks! most recently, baked 2 dozen sugar cookies with green sprinkles for coworkers to celebrate st. patrick’s day.

how can you support food security in some small way this week?