The Gift of Re-gifting

Have you ever wanted your gift to be re-gifted?

Today was a quarterly birthday luncheon in my neighborhood. Womens’ birthdays that occurred in the three months since the last celebration were honored and given a vase of teal and pink daisies. The host was wearing a teal shirt with a beautiful teal bracelet. The color of the table cloths, napkins, plates and even the plastic silverware was teal and pink. Although the luncheon was a social occasion, it had a cause associated with it.

The host selected her favorite charity and each person attending was given the option of giving a $5 gift to it. This happens to be close to the heart of today’s host. She is a cancer survivor. The charity she chose is the local Cancer Treatment Center. As I dropped my $5 gift in the jar I noticed the items on the table—ovarian cancer warning signs card, breast cancer early detection brochure and a flyer for the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer walk this weekend.

The color scheme that had been selected has special meaning. Teal is for ovarian cancer and pink is for breast cancer. She asked the women to raise their hands if they have had cancer, if they felt comfortable sharing. Then she asked whose life has been touched by someone having cancer. It made our gift, which was soon to be regifted, have even more meaning. We thought of those who are currently in treatment or have passed away. It really touched us when she said, “Three years ago at this time, I didn’t know if I’d still be alive. I am so fortunate to be here today. We are getting to the place where we are going to beat cancer, once and for all.” As she passed out brochures to help people learn about early detection, she said that in the future we won’t have as many people raise their hands that they have been affected by cancer.

It was not a somber event. Matter of fact it was a celebration of life for those who had beaten it. During the next couple of hours many conversations centered on celebrating life. When I asked another friend about her husband she said, “He is in remission and is feeling great. We don’t know if the cancer will come back, but each day I look in the mirror and give thanks for one more day.”

We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company and sharing stories. Deep in our heart we knew that we are doing something for the greater good by giving money to be regifted by our host to the cancer treatment center.

Re-gifting never felt so good!

In gifting and re-gifting,

Robin