Clump #24:  Bring bag of clothes to Goodwill.

In the same way I had (past tense!) a hidden to-do list under the layer of clutter on my bureau, there is a subliminal to-do list on our bedroom floor.  I have returned the articles of clothing in this bag a million times … in my head!  They were purchased for my older daughter.  Since she lives far away, it took a while for her to try them on and decide that they weren’t right.  So much time elapsing … and elapsing, and elapsing. The image of finally returning them, and the embarrassment of having to own up to the date on the receipt, was keeping the job in the stuck zone.  I finally mustered up my courage, and then realized the receipt I had put in the bag was not even for those items!!  To the Goodwill they go, with the much happier image of someone being ecstatic about finding such great, new items, with their tags still on.  Another little bit of mental noise (nagging) has been silenced in our place of rest.

Confession: I don’t usually get a receipt when I donate items to the Goodwill.  At the point of release, I’m often so disgusted with the items, I feel I should offer to pay Goodwill something for taking them.  This time I knew exactly how much they were worth, got a receipt, and filed it in this year’s tax folder.

Here’s the back of the receipt.  I hope my donation is a force for positive change in someone’s life.  The act of giving away has already been one for me.

In the spirit of giving and receiving, and to brighten up the post, I offer this photo of an arrangement of flowers.  My son and I were eating at a pizza restaurant on his recent winter break.  A woman from a nearby florist shop came in with arrangements of flowers to advertise her business on the restaurant’s tables.  She asked us, “Would you mind if I put this on your table?”  What a question!  “I would mind if you didn’t!”