today is the day to give something away...to an unsuspecting someone

I heard about Marge years ago and although I have never met her, I think about her time and again.  She was an older woman with a handful of grandchildren, all of which were well into adulthood.  Her husband had passed away about ten years earlier and although she didn’t have a huge bank account to leave as a legacy to her family, she sure had a lot of love and creativity about her. 

She knew that her days were limited, not because of disease or injury, but because of sheer time.  She was what we would consider very, very old. 

One day she called the grandchildren and requested that they each bring their families to visit with her for some time together.  Some time ago she had thought about what to leave behind when she passed, but something had clicked and she felt as if it was silly to wait. 

The time to do something special was now and she wasn’t willing to wait any longer. 

The days were set for each family to visit and she only had a week to prepare, so she didn’t waste any time.  She started in the kitchen.  Old vases, cherished tea cups and a cake display were collected.  They all found their way to the dining room table. 

Then she moved on to the living room where she collected a photo of the kids and her hugging tightly with their lake house in the background, as well as a beautiful prayer blanket and an aged Scrabble set.  The rest of the house allowed her to spend time with other memories – baby bonnets, bingo chips, books with pages folded over for easily reference, knick knacks collected over the years and antiques passed down from previous generations. 

After days had passed and Marge finally sat down to evaluate her progress, her dining room was covered with items spilling of precious memories. 

Marge took the rest of the week to sort out every item.  She felt like a child waiting for Santa to arrive.  The anticipation was nearly overwhelming, so much that her heart did a flip every time she thought about bringing her family together in the coming days.

That Sunday her grandson, Mike, his wife and their four children came to visit their Nana Marge.  When they came through the door, they could tell that something was different.  Their Nana was clearly excited to see them, but it was more than that.  She had the same warmth and smile as always, but still, it was something else.  “Nana, why do you look different?” the sixteen-year old asked with her head tilted slightly to the side, as she questioned her great grandmother.  Marge chuckled and replied with a sweet, “I’m happy, honey.  That’s all.”

Marge led her family into the living room where she asked them to be seated.  One by one she brought out gifts.  She presented each of them as if she were presenting an offering to royalty. 

As she handed the ceramic cake display to Mike’s wife, she shared that this had been a wedding gift when she had been married to her husband over sixty years ago.  She talked about how every cake – birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, births – had spent time perched on top of that very display.  The prayer blanket went to her grandson and she told him about the love and care that went into it as the ladies at church hand created this piece of art for his grandfather shortly after he received the diagnosis that ended his life.  She hoped that he would feel his grandfather’s guiding hand when he wrapped himself tightly in the warmth of the cloth.  The Scrabble set went to her great granddaughter and Marge told her about countless nights sitting around the table with her own children playing Scrabble until they nearly fell asleep challenging each other’s words and sharing what would have usually been kept secret from parents by teenagers and young children. 

The time went on like this, with her sharing a hand-picked gift, memories and life lessons with each of Mike’s family members.  When the family left, they had a new appreciate for Nana Marge and they were deeply touched by her gifts.  Marge had tried to explain the profound joy she felt in sharing her life through these pieces with the people she loved the most, but she really couldn’t put it into the right words. 

When the sun rose, she did the same thing with the next set of family members.  And she did again and again, until everyone was accounted for and all of the pieces had been properly dispersed among them. 

That final night of gifting, Marge found herself sitting in her lounge chair staring at the room around her.  There was a place on the wall where she felt like she could still see the painting which had been there for twenty seven years.  But she couldn’t.  It was, instead, hanging on her granddaughter’s wall admired by everyone who came to visit her beautiful home.  She glanced at the fireplace mantel and sighed a loving sigh when she thought of the yellow vase that had seen more flowers over the years than most gardens.  And her heart warmed as she looked down at the picture her granddaughter had sent of it in its new home with purple tulips spilling over the side. 

Marge realized that by gifting the people she loved the most, she was also gifting herself.  A part of her would be with each of them for so many reasons, but this was special.  And she didn’t need all of that stuff to remember her life, to remember the people and things that were important to her.  As a matter of fact, giving away the things that meant the most brought back every memory and moment with great clarity and a feeling of deep love that Marge could have never imagined.

~ today is the day...for you ~

Today is the day for you to give away something of value to an unsuspecting someone.

~ choose something that has meaning to you ~

Something from your home like a serving dish, a special candle holder or a piece of furniture

An item from your garage like a tool handed down from your father or a wooden bowl made on your lathe years ago

An antique tucked away for fear or breaking or losing it

A piece of jewelry made by your aunt or given to you by your grandmother that she wore on her wedding day

I highly suggest you choose an item which has been in your care for some time, quite possibly years.  There is a place and time to make something for your friends and family, but this is the time to give something away that has had a place in your life, in your home. 

It may quite well be difficult.  After all, it’s hard for us to give away things of value and sentiment.  Too often in our culture we are defined by the things that sit in our driveway or on our mantle.  When really, nothing in our possession tells the rest of the world who we are. 

But our actions…well, that’s a different story.  Today is the day to show generosity and love by giving away something that might have seemed important to your life just yesterday. 

I hope that you'll become a part of this experience & decide to follow today is the day.

as we take our best of intentions & put them into motion to see what big difference our little actions can make together!

Feel free to post your experience here or email me at tinaattodayistheday@gmail.com.

Don't wait too long. After all...today is the day!