My first "no gifts" challenge came yesterday when we received an e-mail from dear friends announcing the birth of a grandson. These are friends who instantly mailed gifts for each of our 3 grandchildren when they were born. I found an appropriate card from a small assortment I have on hand (purchased "pre-compact"). I wrote our congratulations and best wishes and briefly considered writing a note of explanation. Something like "As you see, there is no gift enclosed for Baby Brady due to my commitment to reducing the negative global impact of consumerism." Naw. Too pompous. Truth is, Baby Brady will receive an avalanche of gifts from friends like us and from a huge assortment of doting relatives. Our card and our congratulations are enough. And I feel just fine about it.
Another challenge arose in conjunction with my precious sling chair in which I hang upside down every day out on my porch. The stool I use to get into the chair is unstable, threatening to pitch me over the railing and 40 feet down. What I needed was a smaller, sturdier stool. K-Mart would have one. So would the Sunshine Hardware across the street. But no dice. No more dashes over to the Sunshine Hardware for me. I considered The Salvation Army, thrift shops, garage sales. But I might waste days and gallons of gas looking in those places. However my son and daughter-in-law live just down the street and have a big house crammed with stuff. I went over and nosed around in their garage. Sure enough, I found a small, sturdy folding table, just the right size.
When I asked if I could have it, my son agreed cheerfully. Because he didn't even know he had it! How much stuff do we all have buried under other stuff?
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