Happiness is The Looks on their Faces

Friends, hello from your good (and very tired) friend Sarah, from sunny, humid Minneapolis, soon to be Washington DC.

I’ve missed you today, I’m not going to lie.  Normally my writing time is in the morning, with my coffee, in my yoga pants and a tank top.  Not today.  Today included a 3:30AM conference call with the Belgians, followed by working until 4:30pm, and that is when the happy times started today.  That is when I got to bring the last carload of donations from the Bad Wedding Reception party to Bridging, Inc.
 
I need to tell you something personal.  If you are just getting to know me in the past 5 years, you do not know my story.  You do not know that I grew up in a trailer park, or that every weekend every year we scouted garage sales for bikes, pots and pans, clothes, shoes, toys, puzzles tools.  You probably do not know that one Christmas my only present was a mattress, and I was supposed to be super happy about it, but all I really wanted was a Barbie Dreamhouse. 

You probably do not know that I had one pair of shoes for gym/school (both combined) from the time I was in first grade through junior year of high school, and one pair, maybe 2 pairs, for church. You probably do not know that I used to work 2-3 jobs at all times, cleaning houses, babysitting kids, selling whatever needed to be sold, doing telemarketing for teen suicide prevention taskforce.  You probably do not know that I worked at McDonalds in summers, on the breakfast shift, and that I would eat the little strip of dough baked at the end of every pan of biscuits because it was free, and free was what I could afford.

You probably do not know that my first car was a ’76 Nova that costs $700, and at 16, I had to come up with that money (way back then it took awhile, let me tell you).  I paid for high school tuition, for all of my college, for all of my grad school, for all of my clothes since sophomore year of high school, and I still shopped at garage sales and gratefully, ecstatically welcomed hand me downs from anyone and everyone, from turkey carcasses at Thanksgiving (so I could make soup and gravy that would stretch to many, many meals and also go into the freezer for future meals) to hand me down clothes. 

You probably do not know that my sister and I had to share a room until I moved out to go to college, or that, when there were only 3 of us kids, we all shared one 12 ounce can of pop as a treat, and only if we did a good job on the yard work.  You probably do not know that I learned how to cook by working the family garden.  The reason I know all the herbs and fruits and vegetables and how to tell if they are ripe, how to pick them, how to prepare them, is because we had to grow most of our own food.  I had to learn to cook.  I had to learn to take care of myself. It was really hard.

So when I set up the Bad Wedding Reception party, and when I selected Bridging, Inc. as the beneficiary of all the gift registry presents, I knew exactly how those families would feel when they were so lucky to be able to have their very own brand new blanket and pots and pans and dishes and sheets for the very first time in their lives.  I know that joy.  I know that heartache.  I will never, ever forget it.  I know the looks on those faces.  I feel that, still, and I always will, even though I am a CEO of a multinational corporation.

Today, when I dropped off all the gifts you all brought to the Bad Wedding Reception party, the staff came out, and everyone clapped and hugged me.  I cried.  You know I always cry---I’m a softie, I am a sensitive girl, more than you will ever, ever know, when it comes to kids needing something, I will give everything, always, and I will cry.

So we all cried and hugged and told stories about the families who cried that day when they found brand new things for their new homes.  We talked about the families that, even though they had 5 people, they were only allowed to take 2 beds, because they must have enough for everyone to have something to take.  We talked about the beautiful blankets they hugged to their chests and pressed their faces into, saying over and over again how soft they were.  (these were $25 blankets from Target).  They told stories about how everything was a joy to these families, all these gifts you all so thoughtfully picked out and brought and shared.  They talked about happiness, and so, as always, I will talk about that with you.

 
Thank you for blessing these families with the love you have shown.  Thank you for giving back in thanks for how lucky we all are.  Thank you for being mindful about just how much one little gesture of love can have on someone who works so hard and appreciates every little bit of help.  You did this.  You did this beautiful, beautiful thing. And you helped people like me….so I can tell you, when the staff said I should share with you these words, they come from my heart, too:  “God bless you, God bless you over and over, thank you.  You made so many families so happy today!”
 
With lots of love and joy today, (and yeah, more than a few tears),

Your Good Friend Sarah