The Gift

Today, I walked into a meeting at Hans' school looking for an update on a hot topic and was pleasantly surprised to find out that the "meeting" was really my surprise farewell celebration! At this gathering, I was given a gift. I have mixed feelings about this gift. I am being told I am not being gracious and what not! However, I am allowed to feel the way I feel.

Since I have contributed my time over a period of 7 school years, someone on the School Council decided it was OK to spend some Council funds on a gift for me to show everyone's appreciation for everything I have done! And this crazy request was approved. This is the part I am not comfortable with!

If a bunch of people, who actually care about me, pooled in the money and got a gift - I would have been truly grateful.

A friend described it as a payment for my services. That upset me even more! I did not spend hours at Hans' school expecting a payment! In fact, equating the gift to a payment is an insult of sorts.

For some reason, nobody seems to understand why I am feeling the way I am feeling. And that's OK. I just don't want people to judge me for the way I am feeling and call me ungrateful.

On a positive note, I got an incredibly thoughtful card from this parent who was diagnosed with abdominal cancer a couple of years ago. She still undergoes chemotherapy and looks quite worn out on some days. She took the time to find this perfect card and write a sweet note. Her card, I will cherish forever and read once in a while to remind me that I made a difference in one person's life.

Life is too short to continue to look a gift horse in the mouth. By the way, the gift is an insanely expensive pen and I will use it. Luckily, it is a perfectly practical gift for me … in spite of the way it makes me feel!