Search Results for: gifts

Regifting

Backstory

At one of our girls’ lunches, someone sheepishly admitted to regifting. That opened an avalanche of confessions from those who did indeed pass along to others something that had been gifted to them. Some justified their transgressions. A few told stories of getting caught in the act.

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Regifting – #122

Have you ever dabbled in regifting? You know – passing along a gift that someone has given to you. Oh, admit it. You receive a gift that’s just not something you would use or enjoy. Or that color just does not do you justice. But you know, for sure, that someone else would just love it. So you pass it along.

Now the trick is to regift with panache. There are some rules to follow, if you want to be a real success at regifting. These were passed along to me by some of the world’s greatest regifters. So here are the key tips to Christmas regifting:

Make sure the gift card TO YOU has been removed before you wrap the regift. It’s not a good idea to leave that in there.
Make sure the gift has not rusted while it sat there in the garage, particularly if it has been there for five years or more. That’s definitely not cool.
Make sure you are not passing the gift along to the person who gave it to you in the first place. Keep a list.
Okay, so regifting can be tricky. But when you’re planning to give fruitcake, know that the recipient will always think it us a regift.

So take heed and be sure to have fun this Christmas. We sure are.

P.S.

Is regifting tacky? Etiquette experts suggest that it is acceptable, as long as the item is nice, is in new, unused condition and is something you would have bought for the person if you were paying for it.

Our family plays a game on Christmas for which every prize is a flagrantly admitted white elephant or regift. It’s brought lots of laughter to our holiday and some pretty neat stuff.

[Show #122]

Be Thankful

Backstory

This is a real-life story from fifty years ago. It was a seminal moment in how I looked at things from then on. See if you can relate to what happened.

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Be Thankful – #191

“Be thankful for what you have, not for what you don’t have.” I first heard that mantra back in the 70’s. Be thankful for what you have, not for what you don’t have.

At the time, we were living in our first house. It was a nice 3-bedroom split level in a residential development. But somehow, after a few years, the house seemed small. We needed more garage space, more bedrooms. I wanted bigger, better.

Then the recession hit. Security became very wobbly. The things I had assumed I deserved and would always be mine were being challenged. I might not have a job; my husband might not. Oh boy, how I wish I had those hundreds of dollars we spent on last year’s vacation.

Suddenly I looked around my beautiful, perfect, plentiful home and said, “Please God, just let us keep up the payments. Let us keep this roof over the heads of our children.”

Well, we did survive. The whole country did. Things turned around and we did eventually move on. But I never forgot the lesson I learned then. It may help you too.

Be thankful for what you have, not for what you don’t have.

P.S.

In this time of pandemic lock-down, you might hear whining about the claustrophobic aspects of sheltering at home. Take another look. There are places where shelter is a tent or a ripple of tin. If yours is better than that, you know what to do.

[Show #634]

Choose Not to Worry

Backstory

Mom set the tone for my theory about worrying. Each time I had a teenage bout of mourning, she would make detailed notes of my sorrow. A month or so later, she would drag out her notes so we could check what benefit was derived from all the hours of teenage angst. Confronting the evidence of the time wasted on worry was grounds for a cure.

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Choose Not to Worry – #113

Why is it that some people seem laden down with worry and others just smile right through the potential calamity? If you read the newspaper or watch television these days, you can be overcome by news of what has already gone wrong, what’s at risk of going wrong, or what has the potential to bring us harm and doom.

Meanwhile, if you look around you, chances are that very few of those cataclysmic potentials have already affected you. Your home has not been foreclosed. You have not lost your job. Your teenagers actually love you and hold their own.

So how do we balance reasonable adult concern with worrying ourselves to pieces? Ask yourself, “What is the worst that can happen?” Figure out how you would deal with that happening and then move back into the world of here and now.

Don’t fuss about trifles; keep yourself busy, go smell the roses. And if your yard has dandelions instead of roses, go out and pick some. Gather a bouquet and consider them Mother Nature’s gift to you for not worrying today.

P.S.

In her blog, Positivity Tree, Ella Miller posts messages of inspiration, calm and contentment. Visit her at https://www.facebook.com/ThePositivityTree

[Show #113]

How’s Your World?

Backstory

After months of cloister and self-inflicted hugless, distant interactions, can we still have moments of joy? How does it look when you take an inventory of your blessings?

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How’s Your World? – #618

I want to ask you something. Regardless of the troubles of the world, how is YOUR world? The one you live in, every day, where you work and eat and sleep and laugh.

Are your kids clean and healthy? Are they learning or earning? Is there a roof over your head? Are your parents taken care of? Is there food on your table and clean water coming out of your spigot?

If so, you are far more fortunate than many. And that means you have much for which to give thanks.

This country has served you well, In providing a place where you could learn and work and live freely. Whatever your degree of prosperity, if you look inward, you can usually smile and nod “OK.”

So although we can complain that the world is not as good as it should be, let’s also celebrate the freedoms and rights we enjoy. Instead of asking for more, let’s give thanks for what we have and what we have had.

Then, let’s think about ways to give back as our act of thanks. Provide a kind word today. Donate something to a good cause. Use your God-given talents – for free. Teach something. Forgive someone. Share a smile. Give someone you love an extra hug and two compliments.

Life is good – even though sometimes, we need a reminder.

P.S.

People have been so creative about giving back, during this pandemic lock-down. What have you done? Sew masks? Participate in car caravans? Send a weekly check to the cleaning person even though she could not come and clean? It all matters. It all counts. And on Tuesday, give back by casting your vote and having your voice heard.

[Show #618]

Losing Love

Backstory

Heading into retirement years, many of my friends have now led several different lives – more than one marriage, multiple careers, cultures in different parts of the country or the world. Included in their decades of living is loss. Yet they seem to have recovered and moved on. They told me how it works.

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Losing Love #167

The county song says that unanswered prayers may be our greatest blessing. That’s hard to swallow when you lose love. But whether it disappears, dies, or is dismissed, losing love is painful. The only saving grace is to learn from the lesson and apply it, the next time around.

Why did love go wrong? So often, that question is answered by pointing fingers. But if we look deeply into our hearts and souls, we might find important factors.

Sometimes we love too much and it’s smothering. Sometimes we miss the cues for what’s important to the other person. The saddest mistake is when we revert to bad behavior. We’re determined to never do that again and it comes out, just the same.

Should you lose love, at least don’t lose the lesson. Keep it to improve, the next time love comes your way.

P.S.

Recognize the different types of love that surround you. Romantic love is nice. But don’t underestimate the practical love of friends who are there for you. Great warmth can come from your grandchildren or somebody else’s grandkids. Volunteers find love and satisfaction in the service they perform. If you’ve lost love, stay open to all kinds of fresh new love.

[Show #167]

Conflicting Advice

Backstory

New facts emerge and the expert advice goes off in a different direction. Then a new happening heads us elsewhere. Whoop. It was just a rumor. Back to square one. Wait a minute. Where was square one again???

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Conflicting Advice – #523

There are so many experts out there today. People who think they know better than you what is best for you. Listening to them all can seem like a cacophony of conflicting advice. You follow the rules for overcoming this bad habit this week and the next week the rules are the reverse of what you have been doing.

Today, the advice is to turn left; tomorrow you’re told to turn right. Seems to me the key is knowing your own mind, spirit and body and making your own decisions about what’s best for you.

I saw a news report recently about how Facebook is bad for your health because it’s addictive. Well, of course, we’ve all heard stories about people getting sucked into online chat rooms or dark places, or social media to the exclusion of all else – job, family, friends. But we don’t shut down a tool that facilitates billions of communications because of the few who get lost.

One-third of seniors will fall this year. But we don’t put old folks in football helmets to save them from this fate. Maybe what’s needed is a large dose of caution and a little common sense added to the advice of experts.

Get more than one opinion, check the accuracy of the facts, consider the pros and cons, set up your own filters before following advice blindly. That even applies to the advice just provided.

P.S.

I sometimes think – if I could only stop the swirl for a few moments, maybe I could figure things out. Give yourself some quiet, contemplative time each day for respite. It’s precious. Better decisions are made when you are calm, rested and composed. Go there.

[Show #523]

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