Giving Without Receiving

“It is more blessed to give than to receive” Acts 20:35

Today marks the second birthday spent without Nana. Birthdays were her thing. I don’t mean her birthday though. I mean ours. All 14 of her grandchildren, their spouses and children, 4 children, 11 of her children in law (I’m being sarcastic… kind of), 5 siblings, 15 nieces and nephews, and many, many more people that were important to her. She never EVER failed to mail us all a birthday card.Nana was never a person with a huge amount of monetary means, but she always knew how to make the most of what she had. She ALWAYS put others before herself. I can’t tell you how many times I came to her house to eat in my late teens, early twenties because I literally had used my last dime to eat with the day before. She never said a word about it and I didn’t have to explain myself. She just loved me and fed me. She was this way with literally everyone she came in contact with.That’s all anyone needs, isn’t it? To be loved beyond measure, with no expectations or consequences. To be remembered on their birthdays and fed when they can’t feed themselves. To know someone is thinking of them always. That is who Nana was to everyone mention above.She sent each card, every single year, without any expectations of even getting a thank you. You see, she got it! She knew the true importance of giving. Giving without receiving. She knew it’s worth!

Now that she is gone, I can tell you with 100% certainty… her cards are missed. She is missed 365 days a year. But today is our day to give back to her and she’s not here to receive it. So I’ve decided to give back the only way I know how.I’ve chosen to donate one dollar to NATIONAL FIBROMYALGIA & CHRONIC PAIN ASSOCIATION in her name for each person that I know she would have sent a birthday card to this year. I really wish I knew the exact count of people, because I know there are more. If you were one of those people, please pay it forward anyway you want to today.I don’t want this day to be lost because we lost her. I want to always remember who she was and to continue to give back the way she did. In small, monumentous ways.