When I was a college student, my dad started sending me flowers for my birthday. At first, it was a giant pom pom mum with pipe cleaner eyes and a pipe cleaner smile (an innovative FTD creation of the 80s, I'm sure).
On my 21st birthday, he got all "fancy" and sent me 21 roses. And every year thereafter, I enjoyed roses for my birthday -- one for each year. I've always enjoyed those, despite a few "glitches" over the years (miscounted roses, missed deliveies due to business travel, frostbitten flowers in January). There's something to be said about getting a cheerful boquet of blooms in the dead of winter. The best! Dad also sends Mom flowers on my birthday, too. She did all the hard work, after all!
A couple of years ago, I asked Dad to hold back on the roses. With my advancing age, it was getting to be pretty expensive and it was starting to look like a funeral home in here! All that said, I usually don't "expect" too much on my birthday. When you're within a month of Christmas, the gift thing tends to blend all together anyway.
Birthday 2012: Todd and I went away for the weekend, and I thought that was my gift. It was COLD in Montreal -- the site of our getaway -- but exactly everything I LOVE! And then. The gift.
Inside a carefully selected greeting card was a neatly folded e-mail receipt. The receipt was for the best gift. Ever. (...all due respect for the blooms, dad). For my birthday, Todd made a contribution to the Carla Fischer '87 Endowed Scholarship Fund at Syracuse University. It's a gift that means the world to me and will help make a difference for someone else, too. It touched me like no other gift in a long, long time. That, and the fact that he bought me my own personal DVD of "The Express" made for a pretty special birthday.
We still have a long way to go to meet our $50,000 goal, but honoring my mission on my birthday is a step in the best direction.
WANT TO HELP SEND A STUDENT TO SU?
Click here to make a contribution of any amount to our endowment fund. In the field "My gift is designated for" click Other. Then type Carla Fischer '87 Endowed Scholarship Fund when prompted. Your contribution is tax-deductible and could be doubled if your employer has a matching gift program.
About Me
- carla
- I started this blog a few years back when I was undergoing treatment for some nodules that had grown on my vocal cords. At that time, it was, quite literally, about me finding my voice. Medically, I did. In the mean time, my "Slice of Life" has turned into a whole other "voice" for me. Whether it's sharing a favorite recipie, documenting a family memory, fighting back about cancer and disease, or just finding joy in life's simple moments, this little column has given me a whole new voice -- one that I'm happy to share with anyone who stumbles upon these musings. ABOUT ME: I'm a corporate management consultant by day. That means I do (mostly) leadership training, teambuilding and coaching in large companies and organizations. You can learn more about my business by visiting www.AnnexLearning.com. I also own a retail accessories business. A few years back, I got interested in playing with beads and started making hair jewelry. That evolved to a number of different products that now make up 121 Collection, my accessories line. Curious about the name? 121 (Jan. 21) is my birthday! Visit our store at www.121Collection.com .
My Family
Hogan at the Cascades in Fairfield
2 comments:
This year your Mom got the flowers (as per your suggestion) and your fund got the bump. No more frost bitten roses from 'Cheery Erie'. With age comes wisdom . . . usually; and this is a much wiser 'pay-it-back' or 'pay-it-ahead' way to celebrate what you've meant to us for 39 years!
39???
You've clearly lost track! But I'll take it.
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