My niece,Caitlyn, just turned 18; she is the youngest of my nieces and nephews so the thought of ALL of them now being adults hit me hard. This birthday was special for me as it was the first birthday party I attended for her. It may sound strange but her birthday is January 1. Obviously it is a busy day for everyone to celebrate. When she was young it was always a family fun day and then as she grew up it was sleep overs with friends AND THIS year all her extended family came to celebrate her!
So giving her the perfect gift for being a new adult was my goal. But what did she need being a new adult? Voting is important to me and my first thought was to give her the book, Indian in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power by Jody Wilson-Raybould. It was a powerful book that I had read and was impacted about how I vote. BUT I couldn’t! Why, because Caitlyn is so passionate and righteous. There is so much information about systemic racism that I wanted her stay innocent for just little bit longer. But a very good book!
Here is a link for the book; https://amzn.to/3ijkCW8
So what was I suppose to give her to help her move into the next stage of life as a responsible adult?
This is what I came up with:
1. Reusable shopping bag - be good to the earth
2. Bouquet of flowers - remember to look at the beauty
3. Multi tip screwdriver - you need the right tool to solve the puzzle
4. Flashlight - your safety is important - the light protects and the handle can be used as a weapon
5. Duct Tape - sometimes a temporary fix is all you need
6. Tire Pressure gauge - you can look after yourself but you can let other help as well
7. Skip-Bo game - remember to play and laugh
8. Mike & Ike candies- at anytime you can be a kid
After I got home I thought about the gifts and the meaning and I thought I missed one. I missed the Arts - I should have also included a book or a music CD. This would have been the reminder to enjoy the arts.
I think we all need a reminder once in awhile about what we need to be an adult.
* be good to the earth
* remember to enjoy beauty and arts
* use the right tool even it is just duct tape
* you can do it yourself but letting other help is good too
* keep yourself sage
* laugh and play as a child
PS: She loved it :)
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