Tag: gifts

A Month of Gratitude 2024: Day 12

Hello there! Well, did I not say that I usually get things for free on or around the 12th??? Well, it happened again. I have a lot to be grateful for today.

Two Things I am Grateful For

  1. I usually take two weeks’ leave in January so that I have a little break and get my son sorted for the start of the school year. I generally only have two weeks of leave left at the end of the year, anyway. For whatever reason, I assumed that I was in the same position again this year. I went online to put my leave in the system, and to my delight, I had seventeen days left! I get to take three weeks leave this year! Whoop whoop! How’s that for an awesome surprise! Thank you God! I really need it this year.
  2. I have been hoping that the Vaseline team would gift the team with the sun hats that they have been handing out to influencers and as part of their summer campaign. Today, I walked into a meeting with the team, and hanging on each of our chairs was a cute mesh beach bag which contained…yes, you guessed it, the Vaseline sun hat! Double Whoop Whoop! I was so thrilled. Two great surprises in one day! How lucky can a girl be! 😀
Rocking my new sun hat 😀

One Source of Joy

I went out with my son for dinner this evening. What was special tonight was that he didn’t touch his cell phone the entire time we were there. We actually had a conversation over a meal and had some quality time together. I really enjoyed the evening.

Well, that’s it from me. Thanks for popping by. What are you grateful for today? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now.

 “Time is the most valuable thing that a man can spend.” — Diogenes

What is the greatest gift someone could give you?

This a great question. I have been reading through many of the answers and am so fascinated that most writers have not mentioned material gifts. Instead, they have spoken about emotive gifts like time, love, respect and appreciation. Material gifts are always welcome for me, especially as a single woman. I most often have to spoil myself as there are not too many people thinking of spoiling me. That is not the greatest gift that someone could give me, though. Much like the gift I appreciate the most is time, but not just time, time for me when I need you to be available.

Image: Canva

I know it sounds a little odd, but it is borne out of my recent experience. I had made a new friend online, and we got on very well, or so I thought. The strangest thing was that I could never reach them when I wanted to chat. I could message them, and they would message me back as and when it suited them. Sometimes, it would be almost a day later. In the end, it got so bad that the only way to have a conversation with them was to wait until they messaged me and catch them mid-type. It was so weird, so as you can imagine, the friendship didn’t last. I never realised how important that was to me before. My long-time friends will always either respond immediately or as soon as they possibly can, so I have never had to think about it.  Our relationships are reciprocal. This was such a weird situation that I am still trying to wrap my head around it. The person did have control issues but this was control on another level.

The other special gift you can give me is to be yourself and accept me as I am. I get uncomfortable when someone tries to change me by judging me. There is a difference between trying to change someone into what you want them to be and trying to help someone grow. I am very open to the latter. The former is a no for me.

That’s it from me for today. Let me know what the greatest gift you would like to receive is.

Gifts from the heart

Bloganuary day 9 (Holy macaroni we are almost through the first 3rd of January!)

Today’s Prompt: What is the most memorable gift you have received?

Sjoe it is hard to pin this down to just one thing. There are a few that stand out in my mind for various reasons.

  • A carved wooden bangle that my aunt had sent for me while she was still in exile. She was my favourite aunt, especially when I was a kid. She used used to give us the bag of sweets when we left the farm. You can read about it here. They had to leave in the dead of night without saying goodbye and without telling anyone in the family where they were going back in 1980 or so. We were devastated and for a long time we, the kids, were never told where in the world she and her son’s were for their safety. In approximately 1988, her daughter and her family were able to visit her in Botswana although she was largely based in Tanzania while she was in exile. Her daughter brought back gifts, one of which was this bangle that she gave me. I was so thrilled. I had missed my aunt so and it blew me away that she thought of me while she was away. I still treasure that bangle.
  • The pottery roses that my son created for me in his preschool class when he was 4 years old. They are so beautiful and he was so proud of them. He made them for Mother’s day. They stay on a shelf above my bed where I look at them every day. They were clearly made with love.
  • A card that my son made for mother’s day in primary school. He coloured it in in the brightest, most beautiful colours. It just looked perfect. The thing is that he hated colouring anything in from the time he could hold a crayon. His teachers would get so frustrated with him. For whatever reason, that year, he put his heart and soul into colouring that card so I really treasure it. I often remind him how much grateful I am for it and how much I appreciate how he put aside his hatred for colouring in to create such a beautiful card for me. He beems every time I tell him.
  • My younger sister had once bought me a beautiful wooden wardrobe jewellery box for Christmas. I loved it so much. It reminded me of how thoughtful her gifts always were. Unfortunately I don’t have it anymore as a few termites discovered it so I had to get rid of it but I loved that jewellery box and all that it signified about her.

Those are just a few of the very memorable gifts that I received.

Some of my most treasured gifts
My bangle from Tanzania

That’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by. Bye for now.