Birthdays have never been a big thing for me. I can recall only one party during my childhood, and it was a very simple thing. I had a pink gingham dress, with a frill around the hem. I was quite partial to it.
That dress was washed, and carefully ironed with a bit of starch so the frill looked particularly outstanding. I felt like a princess, but there really wasn't much of a fuss, just a few friends. Our liquid refreshment was water with a bit of orange squash added. (Just try that one now!) |
I must have been about eight-years-old at the time. That’s all I remember. Funny thing is, until I was 18-years-old, needing an official document, I had always believed my birthday was on August 10, instead of the real date of August 12. When you have six siblings, I guess it's easy for your folks to miss things like that by a couple of days!
Now, in my later years, I have another birthday coming up shortly. With longevity it's even harder to remember the details of that day. I've been fortunate to live a long time, to remain healthy, humorous, and to be able to say I've seized every opportunity in life that seemed worthwhile.
Sometimes I've made good decisions--sometimes not so much. I've been blessed with love from others and being able to give love to them. There are so many joys in my life that I can't count them, even if I use all my fingers and toes!
I've gone through my list of subscribers, and in Santa style, checked it twice. It struck me as an amazing thing that there were folks from all over the world who cared enough about my writing to read it consistently. I thought about how much I appreciate you signing up and giving me your vote of confidence that I would commit to sharing my weekly thoughts, ideas, and research with you. Many of you have been readers, fellow writers and colleagues for years now.
And so, it's time to do a giftback!
I need your help for this, and our world needs your ability and willingness to think outside the box. This is the plan... It involves a charity, and the steps towards it. You won't believe how far an investment of one dollar per month can go!
My tasks
- Commit to this project for at least 6 months.
- Write my very best posts, at least one per week.
- Organise a random quarterly draw, (the giftback) of $50 USD. Electronic technology will be used to ensure transparency. If necessary, I will personally top up the amount. First draw will be October 28, 2017
- Reserve 10% of all dollars received, each month for a giftback, semi-annual donation to Ronald Mcdonald House Charities. To ensure transparency in this, my friend, Maria Jordan, of marcoujor’s musings, has kindly agreed to oversee and report on donations.
- Send a post-draw newsletter each month to update project subscribers on progress!
Your tasks
- Do the free sign up on my contact page. (Necessary for bookkeeping). Please note, you can sign up using a username (see instructions on the WarnerWords Contact/Subscribe page), and that is the only public identification that will be used. Your email address is mandatory, but will never be publicly shown, or shared.
- Make sure you have a PayPal account. (See how to do this, easy-peasy on the right side of my blog page. Look for the coffee cup!). You do not have to give me your PayPal address unless or until you earn the quarterly giftback!
- Send $1 USD (US Dollar) via PayPal’s ‘friends and family’ prompt to [email protected], by 26th of each month for a minimum of three months. That amounts to a total of $3 per annual quarter. So, one dollar each month for three months. See? Easy!
- You may send one transaction to cover all three months. You may send a greater amount, but it will only cover one quarter. However, it will help to increase the giveback amount, and the charity donation.
In case you're wondering
The charity is international, with an extraordinary reputation. I'm proud to think your dollars and mine will help families through this organization. Thank you for reading about it here. That is truly a gift on this important giftback birthday.
More thanks
Angelia is our techie-expert, always willing and patient, thriving on solving, super at building lovely Weebly sites, teaching techie things. She’s also my webmaster.
Maria is well known as a beautiful and kind online presence. She has the job of editing, keeping me grounded, and enriching my life with smiles and sage words. It can't be easy, as she seems to do that for all the hundreds of people in her life.
Finally...
What more could a girl want for her birthday?