Giving to others is the best gift

Remember when you were a little kid and you would be so excited about your birthday? As an adult I wait for that feeling and well, it doesn’t happen. I guess that is just part of getting older. Don’t get me wrong, I have no issues with getting older. In fact, I love it. I love when people are baffled by “how old” I really am.
Speaking of birthdays, today is my birthday. I take the day off from work to do stuff just for me.
I feel really lucky to have a job where it is OK to take the day off and is never questioned. And that I can pamper myself with a mani/pedi AND a massage. Yup, I went all out this year.
Since I had the day off I also had the opportunity to visit a women’s day center and drop off some donations.
I collect toiletries from hotels when I travel. I also have a high sensitivity to perfumes and lotions. So if I ever get those as gifts they get thrown into the donation pile and get used by someone else.
In my decluttering I got rid of lots of stuff, including some housewares.
Because the day center is so small they don’t have a lot of room to store stuff. So unfortunately, no clothes are decorative housewares could be taken.
But they did take my vacuum, kitchenwares, towels and toiletries.
The woman I dealt with said toiletry donations are common and, of course, appreciated, especially items from hotels. Their biggest needs are toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant. That makes sense to me. And I will make sure to buy or collect those items when I can.
For kitchenware she said pots and pans and appliances (like the blender and vacuum) I donated are highly needed items.
I definitely will make those items a priority and look for sales at Target and maybe even peruse Goodwill, which would be a double-whammy in charity giving.
I feel so fortunate to have the life I do. And if I can just help one other person then my life is complete. (If you are half as lucky as me or doubly lucky, think about what you can do to help others. Collecting toiletries is super easy.)
And my day of fun isn’t over yet. Shortly we will be heading out to the O.co (dumb name) stadium to watch the Oakland A’s in a home playoff game.
Let’s Go Oakland.