Giving

Yesterday I had the best idea. I told E a while ago that I'd give her some stamps and stamp pads for her birthday. As I was sitting here looking at the ones I was going to put on ebay, I realized that the three smallest sets were perfect for her. They were also some of my very first sets, and so oddly even though I don't love them any more - they have a lot of sentimental value for me. Today, I told her to run in and get the three small sets that I had set aside. She was so excited. She was looking carefully at them. When I said that they would all be hers, she was so thrilled. "I can have all of them?" She thought that I was going to let her choose one. I remembered that I also had a bunch of small stamp pads, and that we had some empty canisters in the top of the pantry. I put 6 little stamp pads, the three sets that I had given her along with a few other stamps into the canister - E's stamping kit. She can hardly wait to use it. She thought she'd have to wait for her next birthday. I told her that it is hers now, for her sixth birthday - and that mom is just a little bit slow. The only stipulation is that she can only use it when I have time to supervise, and A is not in need of a lot of attention. "When is A going to go to sleep?" It's nice to be able to make a little girl's day with just the things that I have on hand.

I'm sure that if I think about it, there are many things that I could offer to my children which would make them very happy. I need to better use my resources, share with them and enirch their lives in the process. It wouldn't require anything but thought and planning. I can afford that.