PAYING IT FORWARD

I've been noticing that some bloggers are already making homemade Valentines. Goodness, they certainly are organized. I still have my Christmas decorations out! I didn't create the picture above. I took the illustration from a Pay It Forward website.

This post is way more about Pay It Forward than it is about Valentines, but it could involve them too. I waited until after the holiday hustle and bustle to do this post. A few weeks ago, I agreed to participate in Pay It Forward "exchanges" offered by two bloggers, Michelle from Poland, and Janet from the Lavender Loft, both of whom are on my sidebar. They aren't really exchanges but I don't know what to call them. I agreed that if Janet and Michelle sent me a handmade item, I would create three items and send them on to three other people. I don't give back to Janet and Michelle, I Pay It Forward!

I really like the Pay It Forward concept. I knew of it as "Prime the Pump" when I was a kid. I grew up in a village with an honest-to-god town pump and sometimes it had to be primed. Prime the Pump meant reserving some water when you draw from the well, and saving it for the next person who comes along in case the pump needs to be primed to get it working.

Later, this was translated into the Paying It Forward concept and was made famous by a movie I really love, "Pay It Forward" with Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt.

I have already embraced the PIF concept this past year, by sending small packages to my blogging friends. If you're saying, "Hey, I haven't gotten one yet" - just wait. I live on a budget and can't treat everyone at once. But I will get around to you if you are a regular commenter on my site. I enjoy this immensely and I always tell my recipient - "Don't send me anything - just Pay It Forward."

Of course, one can Pay It Forward in much bigger ways, as attested to by the various websites you can google. But right now I am keeping it simple and pledging to send some sort of item handmade by me to the first six people who put a comment on this blog. All you have to do is promise to send a handmade item to three other people (I'm doing six because I am participating in two PIFs.)

The best part of this is that you don't have to PIF it right away - it can be anytime in the next 365 days! That gives a person with winter doldrums a lot of leeway! Janet and Michelle did not stipulate this, but I would like to ask that the people who'd like to receive a handcrafted item from me choose their favorite holiday or time of year in which to receive their gift. (So Valentine's Day did wend itself back into this post after all!)

I might as well tell you right now, you won't be receiving a batch of cookies from me! If you read my post regularly, you know I'm not a baker. I'll probably do something with paper, scissors, glue and other fripperies (as Robyn and Daisy would say). Your PIF gift can be anything you create with your own hands. And remember - you have a whole year to come up with something.

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A couple of updates on my post "Oh My Aching Hands": In regard to a couple of new comments, I do wear splints (or braces with the hard metal strip) at night. I was wearing them during the day, as well, but my physical therapist believes that the hand muscles atrophy if the braces are worn all the time. I think I am going to go to the rehabilitation center here and see if there is a more flexible brace that I can wear at work. My hands are feeling better right now. Someone asked if CTS is aggravated by cold weather. I'm not sure, but it may be. We are experiencing a January Thaw right now. If that is the reason for the lessening of my symptoms, I am grateful.

Speaking of gratitude, so many of you commented on the Celtic Blessing that I am going to share the website with you, so that you can see the beautiful imagery and music that accompany it. Erm, I'm sure the music is beautiful but I can't hear it since my daughter could not fix my computer's audio while she was home. :{

Here is the site: http://www.e-water.net/viewflash.php?flash=irishblessing_en.

Be patient - it takes a LOOOONG time to load.