The Year of Giving

Every year I swear I'm going to adopt a Salvation Army Angel Tree child and then I get swept up the holiday frenzy and I forget. Then I feel guilty. Well, this Christmas, I made sure it was the first thing I did. The day after Thanksgiving, I went online and fulfilled an Angel Tree request. I bought a winter coat and an outfit with shoes for a 2 year old living in Southern Maryland. JC Penney had it set up so the purchases would go straight to that Salvation Army location. After that I felt compelled to do one charitable thing every week until Christmas. But, I fell back into my old habits. At least it was a baby step.

For Lent last year, my mom decided instead of giving something up, that she would do something charitable each week until Easter. I thought that was a great idea and it has inspired me in the New Year. While other folks decide to go on a diet or to get a better job or to get organized, I have decided to look outward and not on myself. I have decided that this is the year of giving. I pledge to do a different charitable act every month.

In thinking about the last few years of going through infertility and then the limbo of not knowing what to do next, I realized this has made me focus too much on myself and our problems. Well now I think it is time to adjust my attitude.

So here it goes. For this month I have decided to sign up for Disney's "Give a Day, Get a Day". The closest opportunity to us is for volunteering at a local archaeological excavation site. In college, I came very close to majoring in either history or archaeology, so I thought this was perfect. Hunter likes the idea too. So we're going to do it together. Of course, the other side to this is that we will both receive free tickets to Disney World. This is very nice because my brother and his family are going to Orlando in May to celebrate their 10th anniversary and their son's 6th birthday. And they want me and Hunter and my parents to join them.

So, in giving we will receive. And that is kind of my motivation behind this idea of giving. Maybe through giving, I can refocus on what is important in life and stop being self-obsessed. And maybe, just maybe, I can create some good karma and right the balance in my life. Here's to the Year of Giving!