Giving

It seems as if we've been "downsizing" forever!  But, the closer I get to the end, the harder the job has become. Because . . .

The "easy stuff" is gone.  Now I'm coming to the really hard stuff:  Family keepsakes, toys from when our kids were little, handmade items, items loaded with memories. What does one do with the dress your Mom wore on her honeymoon?  Grampa's violin case from his time in vaudeville?  Your sister's favorite dolls?

I've used about every method known to man woman to pare down from a 3500 square foot farmhouse to our little cape cod retirement home.  My copy of Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is dog-eared and my little Mini Cooper could find its way to Goodwill by itself.  But the things that are left seem too special for any of  my previous methods. 

So I've come up with an unexpected solution for the "hard things":
I'm giving them away.  

To people I don't know.  No strings attached.

Here's my first gift:  My late sister, Nancy's, Ronald McDonald doll from the 1970's. 

The long-time manager of our local McDonald's was thrilled to get it. He's so touched that he plans to display Nancy's doll in a shadow box inside the store for everyone to enjoy. Nancy would like that. Score!

Next:  The vintage child's John Deere tractor and cart from the 1960's that all of our grandchildren have played with. Now even the youngest one has outgrown it.

We considered selling it on Craigslist - until we went apple-picking last weekend and saw these! It turns out that the farm, which is located in the town I taught in for years, collects John Deere tractors and artifacts. They display them in this barn,  outside among the apple trees . . . 

And in a little farm museum they've created on the property.  This farm has been in the same family for four generations and I have happy memories of taking students there to pick apples over the years.

We knew immediately that this would be the new home of our little antique John Deere. 

DH got it down from the attic and we brought it back to the farm the very next day. 

The owner of the farm was a bit reserved when he first got out of his tractor to meet us.  I think he was probably a little suspicious:  Were we trying to sell him something? Ask for a donation? Get him to make an offer on the tractor?  "No", we said "We'd just like to give this to you."

Slowly, his face brightened and he shook our hands, thanking us repeatedly. He wanted to give us apples, cider, pumpkins, whatever we wanted, but, having picked two pecks of apples just the day before, we declined.

Because we got some things even better than apples or cider from our gift to the orchard.

We made a new friend, "paid it forward" in our community, had fun, and left with good karma and full hearts.

What could be better than that?

This post is linked to:

Amaze Me Monday #283 at Dwellings

Inspiration Monday at Refresh Restyle

Talk of the Town at Knick of Time

Paying It Forward

 

Have you ever been touched by the kindness of a stranger?

This was posted on Facebook recently by a wonderful woman who works at my daughter's group home:
My friend and I were at Applebee's yesterday for lunch when someone sent a business card saying, " You have been touched by an act of kindness. Please pay it forward". The note came with a $25.00 gift card for our lunch!!!! So we gave the waitress an extra $15.00 tip, paying it forward in a very easy way. It made us feel so good. The waitress hugged us, which my friend really liked, so all around great things happening!!!!!!

Her "friend" was my daughter.

 

When I read the post, I cried. Unexpected kindness has that kind of power.

Maybe the tears came because someone chose to buy my daughter lunch as a random act of kindness at the holiday season. Or because it reminded me once again of the goodness in people. Or maybe because of all the times people have seen only my daughter's disabilities and not her beauty and humor and bravery.

 

Or maybe because this has been a very tough year for our family, a year of loss and estrangement, and this random act of kindness came at just the right time. The very next morning, DH paid it forward at Dunkin' Donuts, hoping that the chain of unexpected kindnesses would multiply.

As we head into 2015, my resolution is to continue to pay it forward in a small way each day.

photo from modernpilgrim blog



Wishing each of you a New Year full of good health and many random acts of kindness to warm your winter days . . .