Gifting the gifter

This started out as a creative yet obligatory gift to a new friend that gifted me an axolotl bag. I have been in an artistic slump for months now. I had inspired to start painting on a regular basis with my new job that afforded me several days off with the same amount of pay that my previous employment had but alas, 2020... need I really say more? Probably not but in good humor I will inform you that my children have been home since October and the necessary space one (or I) needs to create in has not been available. Mind you I’m talking about head space but that’s a conversation for another time. So absolutly no painting has been happening until now. I had no gift for this new friend, nothing that I thought was cool and personal enough to equal the thoughtful gift she had presented me. I knew her general likes, and with those in mind I set to creating this painting. I am always incrediably nervous when presenting my art to anyone, even as a gift it causes me to be a bundle of nerves. This painting was no different yet I started and finished it in one day. The next day I delivered the gift to her while she was at work. She seemed happy about it but I had to leave in a rush since I was out running errands with my 11 yr old. We didn’t get the chance to talk much before or after the exchange so I found myself wondering if she really liked it or if she was just being polite. Then a few hours later I received this text “ So listen....you were the only person to give me a gift this year....just wanted to say thank you again. So... Thank you!!!” It’s in moments like this that I am reminded that a small act can truly make all the difference to someone else. I never imagined that my gift would be her only one. Now I am glad that I did something unique to her style and used her favourite colors because my unintended good deed but intentional gift made her feel important and loved. The good deed part wasn’t apparent till after the text, before it was giving because I had been gifted. Afterwards the good deed was clear, I had thought of her. Good deeds do not have to be grand gestures or sacrifices, they can be as simple as thinking of another person.