The Giving Tree
It started as a glimmer and turned into incredible fun. I decorated a 3 foot artificial tree for Christmas, placing it on a ledge at my job. I didn't use the traditional ornaments but instead candy, food, small gifts and anything else I could find. I decided that when people visited my office, they were allowed to 'take' not 'give' .
The greatest joy was watching the expressions on the faces of people, strangers to me, stop by and chose something from my tree. It was the housekeeper that cleans our suite, a doctor, a nursing assistant having a bad day, the transporter that picks up our patients or a nurse from the night shift that I've never worked with. All these people have two things in common; the look of surprise when I said, "Choose something from the Giving tree," and their childlike expressions as they tried to decide what they wanted.
The gifts themselves were of no great expense. For example their were things like paddle balls, a bottle of Mr. Bubbles, pocket mirrors, a miniature mystery novel by Agatha Christie, unique pocket notebooks, pens, votive candle holders, a can of Silly String even a bottle of hot sauce. All around the base of the tree were gobs of packaged candy, cookies, chewing gum, pretzels, chips and novelty candy.
I watched as they laughed, smiled and chattered about the choices they made. For me it was the giving that was so much fun. After all who doesn't like a surprise every now and then?
So now the Giving tree is the Birthday tree this month and finally for February the tree of sharing love. I know a few of you are wondering about the cost of all these gifts, how can she afford such a thing? Here's the secret; bargain shopping! Half off, 60 even 70% clearance items from stores like Michael's, Barnes and Nobles, TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning and other specialty places. You can even have fun at the Dollar Tree!
The most important part of this story is this, the giving comes from the heart. You can't expect anything in return. It's in the giving that you will find your joy. To know that you've made someone's day with a surprise no matter if it's a piece of candy or a Matchbox car that a grandchild can use, its about the giving.
The Giving tree may not bring me any closer to finding a handsome single man nor the riches from playing Mega Millions but for a minute I'm happy because someone else is happy and that's all I need to make my day.
The greatest joy was watching the expressions on the faces of people, strangers to me, stop by and chose something from my tree. It was the housekeeper that cleans our suite, a doctor, a nursing assistant having a bad day, the transporter that picks up our patients or a nurse from the night shift that I've never worked with. All these people have two things in common; the look of surprise when I said, "Choose something from the Giving tree," and their childlike expressions as they tried to decide what they wanted.
The gifts themselves were of no great expense. For example their were things like paddle balls, a bottle of Mr. Bubbles, pocket mirrors, a miniature mystery novel by Agatha Christie, unique pocket notebooks, pens, votive candle holders, a can of Silly String even a bottle of hot sauce. All around the base of the tree were gobs of packaged candy, cookies, chewing gum, pretzels, chips and novelty candy.
I watched as they laughed, smiled and chattered about the choices they made. For me it was the giving that was so much fun. After all who doesn't like a surprise every now and then?
So now the Giving tree is the Birthday tree this month and finally for February the tree of sharing love. I know a few of you are wondering about the cost of all these gifts, how can she afford such a thing? Here's the secret; bargain shopping! Half off, 60 even 70% clearance items from stores like Michael's, Barnes and Nobles, TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning and other specialty places. You can even have fun at the Dollar Tree!
The most important part of this story is this, the giving comes from the heart. You can't expect anything in return. It's in the giving that you will find your joy. To know that you've made someone's day with a surprise no matter if it's a piece of candy or a Matchbox car that a grandchild can use, its about the giving.
The Giving tree may not bring me any closer to finding a handsome single man nor the riches from playing Mega Millions but for a minute I'm happy because someone else is happy and that's all I need to make my day.
No comments have been added yet.
