The Gift of the Magi

As I get ready to head home for the holidays, I have been thinking about giving lately. Selflessness, generosity, philanthropy, call it what you will: this season (for social, religious, and tax-related reasons that I need not spell out on these pages) is all about digging deep and giving something to someone else, no strings attached, with nothing to gain but satisfaction.

Giving is, of course, about sacrifice. We’re supposed to give until it hurts, our gifts gain relevance not only from the happiness they bring the recipient, but from the hardship they impose upon ourselves. Many people engage in this strange self-flagellation cheerfully, relishing the sacrifice. The financial hardship gift giving imposes on us makes our gift feel real, gives us a kind of touchstone for the value of our love.

Obviously the first subject on my mind as I think about this are the beloved people in my life: my family, my friends, my loved ones. I have been blessed with an incredible family and a cast of fierce friends, any one of whom have, do, and will continue to make sacrifices in my name. Making myself worthy of their gifts, tangible and otherwise, is the great challenge of my life.

However, due to more than a few bits of good fortune and lucky breaks, I have had the opportunity to witness this kind of sacrifice in my professional life as well. As you know, I work in the non-profit sector for an organization dedicated to environmental quality and protection. With the economy struggling, the non-profit sector has taken a blow. People are too legitimately concerned about their own financial survival to donate money to philanthropic causes.

This financial tightening has contributed to the worried faces around conference tables nationwide, ours included. Revenues are down, and budgets are being slashed. And yet, at the same time, we see before us a great opportunity. The new administration and Congressional leadership is dedicated to a massive investment in public works, an economic stimulus in the form of environmentally-friendly infrastructure our country needs. This stimulus, which could be counted in the hundreds of billions of dollars, is the single biggest opportunity for green investment our country has ever seen.

As the holidays approach, and amidst talk of budget shortfalls, I have seen this opportunity light a fire in the eyes of the professionals I work with. My colleagues have worked long hours for little pay, despite the uncertainty of the future in our field. They have doubled down their efforts to advocate for dollars and investments that they will never profit a cent from. They are working tirelessly to create jobs for people they will never meet, preserving landscapes they will never see for future generations they will never know.

With selfishness and corruption crowding the headlines, I take great pride in working with people who are willing to give until it hurts, to make the sacrifices that make their gift to the world all the greater. As O. Henry said, they are the magi.

Thanksgiving, etc.

My goodness, where do I begin?

November was a month to remember. In fact, so many things happened, that I am hard pressed to recall them at the moment. Is it possible for one to have trouble recalling the memorable moments of their life?

The obvious highlight is my favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving (T-Give). In my family, Thanksgiving is an open invitation, round the clock, no holds barred food and drink extravaganza for four straight days. Between friends, family, significant others, and anyone with no convenient destination for the holiday, you can never predict who will turn up.

On the bus ride back to Glastonbury with Jared, I was struck by a surprising fact: I hadn’t been home for a 24 hour period in 11 months. Having been born and raised in the same house in the same town, this was the longest continuous absence from Gbury I have ever experienced. It’s amazing that so much time passed: I got back from the Appalachian Trail in October, went to finish school in DC in January, and started work the day after my graduation in May. In those 11 months away from home I graduated college, got two jobs, had my best friend move down to DC to live with me, found an apartment, turned 22, visited Chicago, and somehow gained the favor of a beautiful, charming, intellectual woman. It had been a pretty crazy year, and I was more relieved than usual to get home.

Getting the family back under one roof is never boring, and always fun. This year Jess joined me in tagging along with Jared’s family in running the Thanksgiving Day Manchester road race. The Stevensons have the race down to a science, and have figured out how to enjoy the 15,000 strong crowds stress-free. The race was a mixed bag – on the plus side, I ran my fastest time on record. However, I paid for it for the rest of the week: I was practically unable to climb or descend stairs for 4 days.

The nap between race and dinner was excellent as always, and dinner blew me away yet again. The night was long and full of friends, music, and fun. Friday is my turn to cook: I smoke a turkey every year in a trashcan. It’s kind of complicated, but trust me, it’s better than it sounds. This year’s Friday after T-give, Erin bravely came down to visit with the Kimball family. She was spectacular, giving one of the most memorable and fitting T-give gifts our family has ever seen (a beautifully wrapped box of wine) and winning over the family.

The next day was great also: I drove up to Southampton to meet some of Erin’s extended family, and wound up driving Erin back to Glastonbury for Tobin’s traditional bonfire party.

There are many pages of stories I could put here, but it occurs to me I have posted nothing Washingtonian, elitist, or insider-ly. On that note, the big thing these days is the economic stimulus bill and the administrative transition.

More on that, and an exhaustive post in defense of lobbyists (most elitist of the insiders, no doubt), coming soon.