Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The Cost of Happiness?

A colleague of mine snagged her tights this morning and despite using tippex to seal the damage, she was having to walk quite carefully to prevent the ladder from running! I had to take care of a few errands at lunch so while I was in the shopping centre I picked up a pair of tights for her and left them at her desk. I can't believe how nice it felt to do one simple little act of kindness, and the cost of this glorious warm feeling of contentment... about €3... :o)
I've been invited to a Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow evening, not a common occurrence in Ireland! These are long-standing family friends so of course we will not be attending empty-handed. My mother has already taken care of the "grown-up" gifts of wine etc., so I'm in charge of the offerings for the children, and for once I'm nervous about my choices! It's hard to choose for young girls these days, what's cool one week is passé the next! So I'm hoping that Bratz are still 'in', and if not, that the make-up that comes with the dolls will be satisfactory!
I love Christmas, birthdays, or any other excuses to be generous. I just love giving presents. I love choosing thoughtful, personalised gifts that will truly be appreciated and actually used. I know it's a bit early to be posting about Christmas, but I've already started ordering gifts online to make sure they arrive in time and I'm feeling very festive today indeed!
So is it really a self-less gesture when you personally get so much pleasure from the act of giving?
*Later that evening, full of the joy of doing good deeds, I found a €50 note at the supermarket check-out, left behind by the last customer. The look of astonishment on his face when I returned it was priceless.... I'm going to heaven so I am! :o)

2 comments:

Penny said...

I LOVE giving presents. I have already done all my Christmas shopping, I got way too excited at the start of November. I spend ages planning what to get everyone, it HAS to be perfect! I think it is selfish in a way, but who's going to complain when they're getting a load of stuff they're going to love?

TA x

Siobhán said...

TA - wow! I'm impressed! I thought I was organised by starting to buy my gifts last week, but you're already done! :o) It does feel nice to have the perfect gift for someone, especially when they're really not expecting it.And you're right, I rarely hear complaints! :o)