This fall, a good friend of ours celebrated a milestone birthday. And, this friend has at least two or three of EVERYTHING! Just to give you an idea; She’s a gardener, has a pink gardening golf cart tricked out with cheetah print seats and roof, spinners (yep…spinners!), and a boom box. This is just one example but, trust me, she has everything!

However, years ago an unfortunate bite from a single mosquito (West Nile Virus) has left this gardener with some physical challenges that make it difficult for her to play in her garden. Given that my two girls and I have, between us, six good legs to move and shake, I thought that our friend might enjoy the gift of “Party Gardening” for a day. As in, Ellie, Teddy and I would show up with a bottle of wine (soda for the little ones) in the afternoon and leisurely deadhead in the bright sunshine! My friend and I sip vino, chat and garden. The girls help for a bit, look for frogs, play on the super cool golf cart and drink their fun beverages.

Given that we fulfilled our gift to her just over a week ago, it was COLD and Mother Nature was turning out the lights! No time for fun and frivolity. The flowers were already gone, so our job was to clean out the shed for winter.

We worked hard, laughed some and created a fun memory. Leaving with dust up our noses and cobwebs in our hair, we gave our good friend a bit of ourselves. She appreciated the gift that she wouldn’t have had otherwise, and we felt good knowing that we were helpful, in a little way, that day. These things can’t be bought from a store.

Just something to keep in mind for the holiday season:)