Friends and family have been very generous with their time, efforts and gifts lately. This has made me think about offering up skills and belongings that we each have but don’t necessarily know that they could be very useful to someone else. For instance, our family brought these peaches from Utah where they grown in abundance, or my friend Lauren Gregory who graciously offered her design skill to create my snazzy Presently Green logo.
Here’s what got me thinking…A few weekends ago, we were meeting a friend for a bike ride. One of the many bonuses of living in Montana is that you can do something fun while waiting to do something else fun. In this case, we were filling the gap by fishing. BJ rigged up his fly rod and cast into the Gallatin River while I watched from the embankment above.
“Shoot,” I thought, “unlucky cast into that large boulder…looks like quite a snag. He’ll be working on that for awhile.” As I started scanning around for bear, birds and other beasts of interest, he was quietly reeling in the big one. Turns out it wasn’t a boulder at all, it was the biggest trout in his fly fishing history. As he reeled it in, I realized I was empty-handed. No camera. Another catch and release fish would have to go down in history as conjecture. As I was running to the car for the camera I heard BJ’s voice in the dust behind me, “Can you get the shot?” After fumbling around in the car and running back to the scene of the catch, I captured the moment with this blurry shot.
Over the next several hours, I learned the specifics for taking a proper fish shot. Here it is (the result of another successful fishing trip the following day). BJ documented it himself, properly.
The point? It’s a gift to be at-the-ready for a great photo. (Especially if you’re just standing around on an embankment.)
Other ways you can give it if you’ve got it:
Do you have a sweet truck? Help your friends move. Volunteer to load up the recycling for your entire block. Carry a load of mulch for your friend’s garden.
Got some excess food or end-of-the-season garden extras? Take them to your local food bank. And, if you’re the one with the truck, offer to take your neighbors’ extras as well.
Lots of giveaway clothes or costumes? Host a clothing swap where friends bring their clothes to exchange. Or check out Freecycle and Swapmamas.
Maybe you’re a good cook/tennis player/reader/singer/writer/builder/designer/talker/communicator/planner/organizer/early bird/pilot/dancer/parent/fill-in-the blank. You definitely have something to offer and that’s what gives.
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