Generosity

I firmly believe in the importance of generosity. Often I think it is a lost art. The "Joneses" don't encourage this act. I cringe when I go out to eat with a large group of people knowing we will need to split the check at some point. Invariably, there is that one person who figures it out down to the penny. It is an odd world to me. I can't imagine wanting something to be so "fair" that you have to waste precious time figuring out the exact cost for each person. I did not grow up with an emphasis on "fairness." In fact, my parents encouraged generosity. I am so thankful for those life lessons.

Today I experienced true generosity once again. I was helping with a car wash at my school to raise money for our annual trip to California. Every car wash is a great time! Students work together to wash cars and raise money to pay for their trips. I have never missed a car wash at my school. I love helping with them! Over the years, I have witnessed some pretty crummy acts of generosity. For example, one year a guy pulled up in a huge truck covered in mud. We worked so hard to get all of the mud off of his truck. After we all worked together to clean his truck, he dropped a few coins in our donation jar. I was shocked.

However, today was different. A guy pulled up in his Jeep Cherokee. He got out of his car and we began washing his car. Once we finished he asked some of the kids if anyone was lucky. He told the students that in one hand he had $100 and in the other was $25. They could have the money from the hand they chose. Thankfully, they actually chose the hand with $100 and he handed a crisp $100 bill over! It was amazing! This man did not know a single student, nor was he connected to our school in any way. He just randomly stopped by the car wash and made that generous donation. It warmed my heart and encouraged me. Definitely challenged me to be more generous!

Seven Years and Counting

In two weeks I will have been married for seven years. As I type that number it doesn't really seem like that many years in comparison to the number of years I have been on this planet. But at the same time I can't really remember what year one was like. I guess I remember a few interesting events, such as our honeymoon trip, how poor we actually were, and our first holidays as a married couple. Times, traditions, and priorities have changed, yet some things will never change. For instance......as I type this, my husband has set up a camping chair in our bedroom in front of the tv to watch college basketball. He is soaking his sprained ankle in a mop bucket full of ice water. As he watches the games, he surfs the web on his iPhone. This is our life. I love it! Don't get me wrong, I watch the games as well! I am checking my fantasy basketball team and bracket to check my progress. Currently, I am beating my husband in fantasy basketball, but down in the bracket. I am holding out hope that I will not lose the bracket for the 7th year in a row. I can't imagine our seven years playing out in any other way. We don't take ourselves too seriously, although I hear I don't laugh much. Either way, I consider myself lucky to be married to an amazing husband, friend, and resident comedian. He will tell you that he is the funniest person alive, and I believe him.