(Day 1) 29-Day Giving Challenge - A place for sharing.

[rainplace]

Great pictures, Damummis and what a beautiful daughter you have! Grats on the new nephew too!

Yesterday's gift was a bit odd. As a gift, I took myself out of a situation. Let me explain. Somewhere between the 5th and 7th grade I seem to lose my sons academically. Neither of my older boys ended up graduating from high school. Through all of middle school and high school all we did was fight fight fight about school. Nothing I did ever seemed to work. I could take everything away, I could let go, I could offer my help and support... it didn't matter. They weren't trouble makers in school (though my middle son sure walked a fine line with that

) they just didn't do the work given to them.

So yesterday I get an email from my youngest sons' teacher letting me know that kiddo has a paper due on Friday that he hasn't started yet. Immediately I slip into old combat behavior. I make him sit down and start writing, and about 20 minutes later he says, "I'm done." I look it over and honestly, it's crap. There are so many things wrong with it I don't know where to begin. I almost make him cry.

The gift: I look at him and say, "You know what? I'm not very good at this, never have been. Stay here." I go downstairs to the office, rouse hubby from work, and say, "You have to go upstairs and help kiddo get through this paper." He did. They spent the entire evening talking about paragraphs, sentence structure, how to write so things so they sounded interesting, made dinner together for me... everything. The paper didn't get done, but kiddo made a good start and everything in it is his own words, hubby made him stretch

Hubby and I don't have children together. He's never wanted any of his own, and I spent a lot of energy early on in the marriage maintaining two separate households, my kids and me and my husband and me. I drove everyone nuts including myself.

I don't know if this counts as a gift, but whatever it is, it is huge.

 

[Damummis]

Quote:
BRAVO!!!

Of course that counts. I have started doing something similar with DD#1. I act as if I don't care about her schoolwork. The more I rode her the worse it got. Now that I "don't care"

the built in consequences at school make her stay on track. You don't so your work you fail. You fail and there are so many more worse consequences than I can come up with. No after school activities, school rules, not mine. You don't get a job. And so on.

Rainplace, you are doing fine. And you also gave your DH a gift whether he knows it or not. Time with his SS.

 

[jojo54]

Today I was the giver of advice and encouragement. One of my egg customers came by today with alot of questions about raising chickens for eggs.

She has a preschooler so is at home and has been thinking about getting chickens for awhile. She has a shed she can turn into a coop and was talking about getting chickens in the spring. I answered all her questions and took her and her daughter out back to see the chickens, etc. Its nice to be able to give back some of the things I have learned about raising chickens from BYC.

Damummis - what neat pics. Thanks for sharing. You can almost hear the cat crying to get out especially since the chickens seem to be having so much fun!

Also very nice to share your hooks (now we know where they went when you were offering stuff to others!

rainplace - that was a gift given to the whole family. You didn't chew DS out, he got the help he needed, and DH was able to share his knowledge and patience with his DSS. A win-win situation!

 

[WriterofWords]

Our 2nd grade teacher that just came back off of maternity leave asked me for some digital thermometers for her kids to do a science project. I don't have them so I contacted the high school science teacher and made arrangements to get them from her for the other teacher. It's not a lot but if my contacts will make her kids learning a better experience then so be it. She's the teacher my Crochet Club made the blanket for too, she's a real sweetheart.

 

[debilorrah]

Well these past few days have been extremely busy at work. I have stepped out of my comfort zone and helped a co-worker who will never get it with some of the special needs kids, and spent some time on the phone with my boss's sister who has been through two surgeries for breast cancer. Believe it or not, the chicken thing has rubbed off on her and now she wants me to hatch out some colored egg layers for her.

 

[Damummis]

Aww, shucks, Jojo, you're making me blush.

It was no big thing. I am glad they went to good use. I am trying to "give" with purpose.

Morning all. The rain is coming down hard. No outside stuff today. There is a good chance we could loose power tonight so I think I'll get dinner done early, something that can be set on the wood stove if needed. Vacuum the house and all the other electric things.
Hope everyone has a good day.

 

[WriterofWords]

Windy here!! Clouds coming in, cold,, The Crochet Club will be presenting tonight at the Board Meeting, maybe we will do some sharing with our crochet work.

 

[Damummis]

Quote:
I just read the project cost on your class page. I really wish I could do more. Are there any other supplies you may need that I already have. That I could send???? The financial part is tough but I do have "stuff".

 

[WriterofWords]

"Stuff" is more than welcome! We need yarn, not so many hooks thanks to you lol, but still some) fabric, hand sewing needles, thread in any color. We received a donated sewing machine today from a club member whose name I won't mention without permission but thank you!! I'm just shocked and thrilled at all the support we get from BYC members!

ETA: I really appreciate you taking the time to look at our page, that gives it traffic and that keeps it up front when people go looking for donation opportunities.

 

[jojo54]

I baked gump cinny buns today and took a pan to a neighbour who is recovering from surgery.
I also had a long chat with a couple of seniors in the grocery store parking lot when I picked up my chicken produce. Smiles and chuckles all around.

A friend phoned and asked my DH and me to sub on her curling team because two players were away. So we curled today and had fun. That was the gift of preventing a loss by default.