To give... away
This is a recent letter I wrote from earlier in the holiday season...
Hi.
I hope that you're well and this season is treating you kindly.
My daughter goes to a daycare where they make it very easy to drop off gently used clothes, books, toys, etc, and I am more than happy to contribute because I know the items will go directly to other families...
Recently my son came home with a flyer for a school toy drive. I sighed for a second but then remembered that because I am THAT mom, we still have toys that have never left their packaging. I believe in moderation, and just because my kids receive a lot doesn't mean that they will be given a lot. Aside from what I consider is a reasonable amount of gifts, the rest is parceled out over time. The kids will never know, and by then their dad will have forgotten. Sometimes I will bring out something new from that toy stash to serve as a pick me up for a long car ride or trip, or maybe as a reward for doing something
particularly well, but often just tossing through the toy box, or going through the bookshelf to rediscover old favorites works just as well.
As it is, so much gets used and then fades from memory. So why do we need more?
This is the season of giving... it feels like a season to give. The weather has turned. It's chilly in the morning and the floor is cold before you put on your slippers. It get's dark early. It's like life primes us to find ways to be both comfortable and to find ways to give comfort.
Which leads me to going through my kid's hand-me- downs, and handing those items down to the next family. Through the toy drive sharing those unopened gifts with kids who don't receive a lot. And from me personally, creating a few small items that will be gifted to some stranger on the internet over this holiday season.
That's all for now.
Be well.
E
P.S. I have been reading the memoir, Old in Art School. I am not at all an artist, but it is such an delight to learn about people and ideas and crafts that have nothing to do with my everyday or my particular interests. Reading for the sake of reading. It's like going to a lecture on a Sunday afternoon because you want to be transported somewhere else. Before this, I "auditioned" The Memory Police. Good writing, but a bit of a dark take on the process of memory and loss. I find that there is an edginess that it particular to Japanese writing and visual media that I can't quite put my finger on.
I hope that you're well and this season is treating you kindly.
My daughter goes to a daycare where they make it very easy to drop off gently used clothes, books, toys, etc, and I am more than happy to contribute because I know the items will go directly to other families...
Recently my son came home with a flyer for a school toy drive. I sighed for a second but then remembered that because I am THAT mom, we still have toys that have never left their packaging. I believe in moderation, and just because my kids receive a lot doesn't mean that they will be given a lot. Aside from what I consider is a reasonable amount of gifts, the rest is parceled out over time. The kids will never know, and by then their dad will have forgotten. Sometimes I will bring out something new from that toy stash to serve as a pick me up for a long car ride or trip, or maybe as a reward for doing something
As it is, so much gets used and then fades from memory. So why do we need more?
This is the season of giving... it feels like a season to give. The weather has turned. It's chilly in the morning and the floor is cold before you put on your slippers. It get's dark early. It's like life primes us to find ways to be both comfortable and to find ways to give comfort.
Which leads me to going through my kid's hand-me- downs, and handing those items down to the next family. Through the toy drive sharing those unopened gifts with kids who don't receive a lot. And from me personally, creating a few small items that will be gifted to some stranger on the internet over this holiday season.
That's all for now.
Be well.
E
P.S. I have been reading the memoir, Old in Art School. I am not at all an artist, but it is such an delight to learn about people and ideas and crafts that have nothing to do with my everyday or my particular interests. Reading for the sake of reading. It's like going to a lecture on a Sunday afternoon because you want to be transported somewhere else. Before this, I "auditioned" The Memory Police. Good writing, but a bit of a dark take on the process of memory and loss. I find that there is an edginess that it particular to Japanese writing and visual media that I can't quite put my finger on.
A good way to start the new year - I'm getting things ready for a Second Chance Shop run soon!
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