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Sunday, November 6, 2011

So Excited - It's Giving Day!!!

I am so excited that today is finally here that I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and have not been able to go back to sleep.  (Well, actually it would have been 5:00 a.m., but daylight sayings time ended last night, so it is earlier than a sane person would ever wake up.)

We have worked and planned for this day for weeks now, and we are looking forward to having some fun today.  It is Giving Day !

As those of you who regularly stop by here know, we moved about three weeks ago.

Younger, stronger backs unloading our stuff.

The home we had occupied for the past twenty years had about the same square footage as our new place, but it was divided into more rooms.  We had a formal living room (although ours was always pretty casual), a family room (where Holly, the resident Lhasa Apso was allowed on the furniture) and a sun room (where the LOC*, and Holly, and I would loll about on rainy days as we listened to the rain drops beat on the roof. (*Lovable Old Coot)

Now we do not have a family room or a sun room, we just have one big living room and all the stuff that was in those other two rooms needed a new home.  So we are giving it away!

The LOC said we could have a yard sale.  Yes, and after lots of work in tagging and hauling things out to the yard and then hauling off everything that did not sell, we would have a little bit of cash to show for our efforts.  Some people enjoy that kind of thing.  I do not.

I agree with the guy who once said, "If you go to enough yard sales, eventually you wind up with enough stuff to have one of your own."  :)  Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against yard sales.  I just do not have the time, energy or interest in hosting one of my own.  I'd rather give stuff away to someone who needs it.  And so would the LOC once he got into the swing of it.  He gave the people moving in across the street from our former home, a refrigerator, the big gas barbecue, his roll top desk, and other items we decided not to take to the new place.  They were a young family, who did not have much except for three young children plus a brand new baby, and they were thrilled to get those things.  Win,win.

So today, a couple of extended family members who recently lost pretty much everything they had and are now starting over, are arriving with a U-Haul to pick up our contributions to their new place.

Many years ago, my family lost everything we owned overnight.  It is a long story, and we will not recount it here, but we were suddenly left without (as I used to say) a chair to sit on, a bed to sleep in, or dish to eat from.  It was traumatic to say the least.

Many kind people gave us things to help us recover.  And some were generous beyond anything I could have imagined.  But I recall opening one donated box, and finding old clothes too worn to be worn, and even one sock  - not a pair, mind you, but one sock; and it had a hole in the toe!  I could not make this stuff up if I tried.

So I have always tried to be sure that when I give anything away, it is something that I would enjoy receiving.  If it is worn out, I recycle it or send it to the dump.  But I do not give it to another person.  To do so, for me, is disrespectful.

But today - oh, joy!  We are on a lollapalooza, bonanza of a give-away, and I can hardly contain myself.  We are giving away two wicker chairs, four small occasional tables, two lamps and a rocker/recliner.  Towels, sheets, bathroom accessories (we used to have three bathrooms and now we have two, so right there you have an extra set of throw rugs, soap dishes, towels, etc.)  Wall pictures, knick knacks, dishes, bedding, and a double bed.

Now my daughter, that would be Denise over at The Quiet Quill, will be thrilled to learn that we are replacing the double bed in our new, larger guest bedroom with a new queen sized bed.  Yea!!  She and her spouse have scrunched up for years, once or twice a year,  in that dinky little double bed.  No more!  :)

And the recipient of the double bed (and it is a good quality bed) has been sleeping on an air mattress on the floor for months now, so she is really excited, too!

An extra rocking chair, a candle holder, a floor fan (we now have two ceiling fans) ... and on and on it goes.  We gained an extra washer and dryer with our new house.  We already had new ones, so thus, we have this set which is less than five years old - good quality front loaders - to give away.  Isn't that just too much fun?

The LOC can hardly wait, as he will be able to really begin to sort out his new garage, once this stuff is hauled out of there. 

We have been blessed.  We know this.  And we are so happy to be able to share what we have with others.  Not just our stuff, but our hope and our joy in doing so.

So smile along with us today - it is Giving Day!  And we are excited.  Hope your day allows you to share something good with someone else.  Until next time ... your excited friend, Marsha







10 comments:

  1. This is absolutley the most inspriring post I have ever read!!! How incredible in this day and time to read of people GIVING their extra things away!! What an example you are setting! I so agree with you......it IS more blessed to GIVE than to receive! Good for YOU!! God will abundantly bless you for giving......actually He already HAS!!
    Now I am going over to visit your daughter's blog.....
    Happy GIVING Day!!

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  2. When both of my parents went to heaven, the 3 of us kids went to their home and did much the same. A good friend had a small seminary and got most of the furniture and housekeeping items, and it made us so happy. When we remember it's all His anyway... we just pass it around and the next user may have been praying for some of those very things. Love this, and yes... it is a day worth celebrating! Good for you and 'loc'. :)

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  3. You sound so excited in this post and rightly so!!
    I'm sure you are going to get so much pleasure from giving your extra items to other people. Enjoy yourself. :))

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  4. What a wonderful day you're having. You've proved it truly is more blessed to give than to receive. Blessings to you and your LOC!

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  5. It truly is better to give than receive!

    What a celebration of our Lord's gracious gifts to us - and then, the joy of passing on His lavish generosity! I'm celebrating with you.

    And, I'm thinking maybe I need to look through my drawers and closets again...hmmm.

    GOD BLESS!

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  6. You all are amazing people. It feels so good to help others doesn't it? Enjoy your giving day & let your hearts swell with pure joy!

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  7. I love your idea of giving. Many years ago when my children were young we had a family in the area who needed lots of things. It was Christmas and they had nothing. We organized a group of people to donate things used and new. My children each picked out their favorite things (I let them make their own choices) to give as the other children were their ages. Some of the things they chose were practically new/maybe worn once, and they were truly things they liked. I was touched by their generous spirit of giving and it's been a favorite Christmas memory of mine for years.

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  8. Oh, I can feel your excitement about Giving Day! What a wonderful idea to give your things to those people who will really appreciate it. Lovely to be able to help people like that. I do agree with you about rubbish that some people give out. Some of the stuff that people take to Charity Shops is stuff that I would put out with the rubbish!! Love the way you call your hubby LOC!!!

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  9. Oh, you and the LOC (I LOVE THAT ENDEARMENT!!!) are wonderful!!!!

    So neat, after once having lost everything yourself, that you are now giving back and I AGREE with you about yard sales!!! Instead of having a yard sale, I donate extra things when my friends have yard sales, but I like your idea even better!

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  10. Oh my goodness...giving day...that's brilliant! Your'e a generous, beautiful person.

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