Generosity

The official celebrations are over, so it must be time to reflect.  I turned 34 on Thursday, had breakfast with the family, and had a big party at my place last night.  It's been great to have a little space so we can invite people over, especially when the weather is good and the back yard is an option.  Having the event provided me with the motivation to do some stuff that I've been meaning to get around to, and so the yard and house are looking better than ever.

Sometimes I'm struck by the generosity of people.  I think it has to do with my minimalist tendencies because I will spend relatively little money in my daily life (for an american).  But this week my boss brought me a gourmet bagel for which she had to have made a special trip, my folks let me borrow tables, chairs and yard tools, my neighbor gave me a 25% discount on a fantastic cake (she probably wouldn't have let me pay for it if she had known the occasion) and people bought plenty of tasty adult beverages to make the party great.

Far and above all the rest is my brother Gosall.  He is quite possibly the most generous person I know.  He will help anyone he can, especially the people he knows and feels close to.  He is helpful to his own detriment sometimes, but if you needed a good visual for the Good Samaritan, memorize this picture of a 5'7" Cambodian dude.

He smiles as he serves!  For this party he bought drinks, purchased & prepared delicious short ribs, made 2 or 3 extra runs for things we needed last minute, and helped clean the house in preparation.  He smiled, hosted, and manned the grill to free Kisha and I up to work the crowd.  This weekend's celebration went as well as it did because Gosall did stuff he doesn't really like to do.  I could learn from his generosity in the year to come, as I round up on 35!





In a similar line of thinking, Kisha was spectacular this week.  Even though she was feeling under the weather she helped me plan, invite, re-invite, double check details, buy food, try to return food, took photos, and was an extremely gracious hostess.  It's so nice to have a partner that can help people feel welcome, hang out with the kids, and keep smiling at us even when it's past midnight and we're still outside playing dominoes.  That's my sweetie!