Gifts
I more or less woke up one morning recently and realized that I am a very civic minded person. Lots of people are mind you, I'm not special. Often people do something for money as a career and spend some of their free time doing something charitable for others. It may be organizing the Christmas parade with the JC's or just assisting a Cub Scout den mother. Most everyone does something and they don't do it thinking about how its helping to offset the bad Karma. You know, associated with for instance something like hunting, killing, and eating vegans because they taste better than most omnivorious people. They do it because it just feels good.
I got lucky, while I have no big fancy money making career, I do have two different and very rewarding hobbies that make me feel good. One of them I work from 8-5 in higher education, and the other I work nights and weekends in fencing. Of the two, higher education might be the greater good, but fencing is by far the most personally rewarding.
For instance one of the greatest gifts I get, comes to me when the room is full of fencers and no one notices but me. It is when I am watching a fencer, especially a new fencer on strip in club, they aren't looking at the scoring box, they are looking for the next touch. Their faces aren't locked in tight determination, their smiles are broad, because they are having about as much fun as they can have legally, and I am proud to be a part of that. That is about the best gift a person could get, and I have a good group who gift me this way freely and often.
Then sometimes I just get shocked and knocked off my feet. It often happens this time a year. I'll be sitting there minding my own business and along comes a student who has no idea how generious they are already when they up and give me a completely different kind of gift. One of my foil students last night gave me and the other foil coaches a huge container of home made cookies and a loaf of cranberry bread each, along with a really nice christmas card. I dare say I came closer than I care to admit to becomming mildly misty eyed.
Ok, yes, I am the guy who just one year ago had to get a new fencing uniform because I was busting out of the largest thing the club had and can't even remember when I last fit in my old uniform from the UNCG days. Yes, I am also the guy who goes to tournaments now fifty pounds lighter looking for all the world like I've borrowed my jacket and knickers from a professional sumo. And yes too, giving me a pan of home made cookies and a loaf of cranberry bread is like setting up a cash bar in an AA meeting. But man, its soooo good. And the chocolate ones have a layer of caramel in the middle. I don't even know how they did that.... mmmm...hang on....need to wipe my mouth.
I love my work, even though my outfit makes me look like a refrigerator with legs.
