Pay It Forward

Oh, I was having a week, alright; one of those weeks that make you stamp your foot (if you’re me), gnash your teeth, and yell out “JUST STOP IT ALREADY!  I AM DONE, I AM DONE, I AM DONE!” or perhaps you’re more normal and don’t do such things.  Well, sometimes I quietly sit in the corner and cry, but it’s been a few years since I’ve done that, so I won’t mention that just now…

But the thing is?  The thing is, every time I am ready to just throw in the towel and curl up in a ball and really just not deal anymore – I remember a time when I did do just such a thing, and it’s probably a time in my life best forgotten; forget that I wasted so much time on being a useless lump – something happens to pull me back, to tell me, hey, you know, you’re Yvo, you’ll be OK, because you’re ALWAYS okay, that’s the very definition, the very essence of being Yvo, so, chin up, things will turn around, and you’ll be up and about before you know it. 

And it’s painfully true.  I am the Yvo, who will always be OK, even when things aren’t, it’s just part of who I am.  This is both a blessing and a curse, but again, a story for another day…

So you all know I was frustrated and fed up… and I indeed went home that night, extremely grumpy and ready to just lay in bed and stare at the ceiling until I fell asleep.  Of course, life works in funny ways, eh? 

I found in my mailbox a lumpy package.  A small smile was already forming, tugging at my lips as I saw the return address and recognized the name of one of my long time readers (I mean longtime, practically since I became the Feisty Foodie, who has returned – THANKFULLY! – after a long absence!)… but I savored it.  I went upstairs, put away everything I was holding, changed into my sweats, cleaned up a bit, patted the dog until she was satisfied it was really me, reheated my dinner of leftovers, before I sat down finally, in my lovely armchair…

*picture taken on Sunday, actually

and finally, tore into the package to find this:

Greeting card; stickers for scrapbooking; holiday mug stuffed with chocolate, white tea, and a HOMEMADE unflavored lip gloss!!!  Wowee!!!

You see, I’d near forgotten all about this giveaway I won – read about it here – dedicated to paying it forward.  Everyone has so much to give – tangible or intangible – love, time, a small trinket, knowledge, whatever it may be – and we should try to share something every day with the people around us, or further.  Blogging already shares a bit of ourselves with people on a daily basis, but this giveaway takes it one step further, to turn it into something tangible, to put a handwriting to a name we read near daily, to really share what we can… well, sign me up. 

If I can brighten just one person’s day even an ounce as much as this brightened my day – to know SkippyMom was thinking of me while she filled the padded envelope, put together the various items in my lovely gift, perhaps humming a happy tune while she wrote out the card, with Spot, her Dachsund curled up at her feet, or perhaps trying to jump up and see what she was doing… it really made me happy.  It made everything else seem trivial; someone was thinking of me!  Someone chose each item for me, lovingly and painstakingly put it together, wrapped it, wrote out a lovely card with my name on it, and put a lot of thought and effort into what to write. 

It makes even the annoying things, the bad things, all the things we don’t want to deal with… seem worth it, to get to another day where someone thinks about you. 

I want to share that feeling with you. 

First three to comment on this post will receive a small something in the mail from me.  You HAVE to include your email address somewhere for me to contact you, and you HAVE to have a blog so you can, in return, do the same and pay it forward. 

Thanks… I hope you all have a wonderful, lovely Monday and someone thinks of you fondly 🙂