Jan 282012
Jan 272012
Giving. It’s important. We feel fortunate and we want to give to those we love, of course, but also to those less fortunate than us.
We especially think about it in November and December, right?
Food Drives. Salvation Army Kettles around every corner. Toys for Tots. Giving trees at your local library and church. Double the tip for the wait-staff. End of the year charity events. Cookies for the mailman.
What about now? January. February. And the next 8 months of year.
I’ve been looking to be more giving with what I have to give. I’m trying to give what I don’t NEED to hoard for myself, to other people who could USE and ENJOY what I have - in terms of physical stuff, encouragement, time, energy and more. Sometimes this means giving my energy to send mail to a friend to add some cheer to their day. Other times, it may mean buying a coffee for a stranger, donating clothes I no longer wear, or books I’m not going to read again.
Here are a few other small ideas you can add to your life to get with the giving 12 months a year.
4 Ideas to help get in the habit of giving all year long:
1. Hotel Freebies. Hotel stays have been pretty common in my life the past few years. Work trips, Blogging Trips, and long vacations to various cities all over the country. How often have you stayed at a hotel and added the toiletries left in the bathroom for your use to your suitcase to return home with you? 
Here’s an idea I got from an old boss I had in Texas. He traveled A LOT for work, and always came back with a bag full of shampoo, conditioner, soap and the like. Occasionally, he even asked the front desk for extras. When returning home, he would add all the supplies to a box, and every few months donate the supplies to a local battered woman’s shelter. Toiletries are almost always on the top of shelter’s need lists!
2. Buy One Give One: Tolietries. After learning how much of a need there was for such simple luxuries as shampoo and soap, I made a pledge. Every time I pick up a bottle of shampoo or body wash for myself, I add an extra bottle to the cart to donate to the shelter as well.
tip: I’m not necessarily particular about which brands I use for certain products. If I see a decent buy-one-get-one coupon or sale, I almost always choose that item to purchase.
3. Replace your own WANT, with someone else’s NEED. This year, I really want to try to do something similar with non-perishable grocery items. When I take a trip to the grocery market, I exchange one “impulse buy” item from my cart with groceries for the local food pantry for the same cost as the impulse buy.
For example – when walking down the aisle, I add two tubs of hummus to my cart because they are on sale for 2/$5. Do I really need two tubs of premade hummus? No. So I return one, and spend $2.50 on some food pantry items instead.
4. TIME. Don’t forget to look PAST money and, well, stuff, when it comes to giving. You have other valuable resources you can give to those in need. One major one? YOUR TIME. The best thing about giving your time is that there are SO MANY organizations and activities that need help, you are sure to find something you really enjoy doing if you just take a moment to look.
Just a few examples?
My dear friend Julie recently signed up to volunteer in a cooking class after school program.
When I lived in Texas, I joined a volunteer program at a nearby retirement community in which I visited residents who didn’t have family local on their birthdays and special holidays. [I always made a card, and usually brought a cupcake or two 
]
If you love furry friends , spend an hour or two helping out at your local animal shelter. [highly suggested if your job/apartment/lifestyle doesn't support committing to a pet of your own!]
That is just the very tip of the ice burg, my friends. A great place to start when wanting to volunteer your time is Volunteer Match! It’s a great website where you can search for volunteer opportunities by location and keyword. [that’s how I got hooked up at the retirement community, by the by!]
Jan 262012
by insprired by Heather’s post, Letters, Megan shares her own experiences writing letters to little ones across the country.
While I have no children of my own, I am an “Auntie Megan” to several tiny humans! I have 3 girls who I am the closest to. (I call them “The Baby Girls” and they are pretty much the best things in the whole world. They renewed my faith in a higher power and give me continual hope for the future of this world. I will happily tell you all about them in the future!)
But instead, today I want to tell you about a very new person in my life. Her parents were friends of mine in college and I was a bridesmaid in their wedding. (Apparently I’m doing my “I’m too sexy for this dress” look in this picture, to the right, from their wedding day!) They have been very, very dear friends of mine for many years. Even though they were a year younger than me in college, I look up to them and respect them immensely. After they got married and lived in NY for a few years, they moved back to Chicago and got pregnant!!! I was so excited to be an Auntie Megan again!!!
“Baby I” was finally born last summer. Though I live far away from their family, I made plans to visit her as part of a very long vacation last summer. Both her mother and I had a little discussion with her before she was born asking her to come at the right time so I could see her. Being as diligent and as smart as her mom, she came at the perfect time! I got to hold Baby I in the hospital and then again when I came home from my lovely trip.
In an effort to stay connected with Baby I despite our enormous distance, I try to send her things often. I got her a book with my voice on it and made CDs for her to listen to before she was even born. A few months after she was born, I found an adorable little onsie with “Lady Goo-Goo” on it. [you can find a similiar one here!] Now, I know we haven’t talked about how I feel about Lady Gaga, but I think she is doing some pretty great things for society. (We can talk more about this later if you’d like…I know that there are many who don’t agree with me!)
I don’t think it’s fair to do things to children without them knowing your reasons because they are too little to make choices for themselves. Understanding other people’s choices helps them develop the ability to justify their choices earlier. So, I attached a letter with my package for Baby I explaining my gift:
Dearest Baby I,
This is your Auntie Megan!!! I found this little outfit recently when I was visiting Mankato – a place I used to live. I’m sure over the years we will have many great discussions. And some of them (not all, but some-maybe many) will involve important things like identity, gender, culture, icons, society, etc. So this is our first discussion (rather one sided, but that ok. You can take it all in!)
See, many people will do things to you to help you grow up and find your place in this world. We will ask you your favorite color, teach you how to throw a ball and encourage you to listen to certain types of music (um, if you remember, I was doing this before you were born!). These things help us form our identity before we can do so ourselves.
One thing that becomes very important to our identity is the clothes we put on our bodies. Your mom and dad are excellent examples of people who have found their own styles and dress in a way that helps people interpret who they are. Well, you can’t pick out your clothes yet, so they do it for you. AND people will buy clothes for you!!!
The reason I’m going into all of this is that people will put things on your body that they won’t explain. And I think if I’m going to buy you something that has a statement of communication, you (um, and mom and dad!) should know my reasonings behind it (since you can’t really choose yet. Did I mention I have a masters in Communication and teach at a college. This will help context this conversation).
There are lots of great things happening in the world right now (this is almost always true). As has been true for the past hundreds of years, there are certain people in power and other people fighting for rights. (The group of people often shifts, but the set up is still the same). Some of the people who are fighting for rights currently are queer or weird. And your Auntie Megan is pretty passionate about this.
I am not alone! There are lots of other people too! Many live really close to you in a place called Boystown! (You can tell from your stroller that it’s Boystown cause of the pretty bright colored flags!) Anyway, this fight often doesn’t get center stage in our news or culture. But there are a few people who are working to bring it front and center.
One of them is called Lady Gaga! (yes, that’s her name! Even her mom calls her that!) She also sings music-I’m pretty sure that I put some versions of her songs on some of your CDs!!! Some people really like her music. I like some of it, and the songs that are very meaningful to me make me cry (in a good way!). Beyond that, she wears amazing costumes, is very theatric and is always using performativity!!! Because of this and other reasons, I think she’s really awesome! (I even wrote a 26 page critical analysis of how she is pushing the bounds of common. You can read it when you are older. When it’s published! If you want). So this shirt is sort of a joke on her name-instead of Lady Gaga, it says Lady Goo Goo!!
I thought that was funny and I also thought since you ARE Baby I, goddess of the rainbows, and you DO live near Boystown, you should have this!!!! Everyone will think you look FABULOUS in your stroller!! I am not sure whether it’s daywear, pjs, or both, but either way, I thought you should have it. I do miss you very very very much. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to come visit, but I will keep sending you things and reminding you that I am your Auntie Megan and I love you sooooooo much!!!!
A few day’s after I sent the package, Baby I’s father sent me a text that said, “Thank you so much for the outfit and the primer on identity politics. We read it to her this morning!”
