A Most Eccentric Un-birthday Giveaway!

This is the big one:



Next week, I celebrate the big one--Nancy 5-0. On August 11, 2011, I become officially eccentric.

Go ahead, smirk to yourselves; I'll wait. I know what you're thinking:

And, until now, just what exactly HAVE you been?

Practicing. I've merely been practicing. And now I get to own it,utterly and completely. I'll be a middle-aged, gray-haired, eccentric woman who says and does the most outrageous things. In public. Without apology.

And how does one celebrate such an occasion appropriately? Well, one doesn't. But Ethel and Rock star-diva girlfriend have some big plans for me. There will be shenanigans.

I also want to invite you to join in celebrating with me. How? By giving stuff away, of course! Because if you have never learned anything from the marvelous writings of  Lewis Carroll, learn this: Although you celebrate your birthday only one day a year, there are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents. And, as Humpty Dumpty says to Alice, "There's glory for you!"

So here's my plan: I'm going to spend my birthday celebrating un-birthdays by giving things away. Throughout the day I'm going to give gifts to random people while wishing each a happy un-birthday. At the end of the day, I imagine I will have stories to tell. 

And I'm inviting you to join me. Between today and my birthday (August 11), help me celebrate by giving something away to someone--anyone. You may wish someone a happy un-birthday if you like, or simply say you're giving stuff away because some crazy old gray-haired lady on the internet asked you to. If you have the opportunity to say that the gospel is a free gift of God's grace, by all means, go for it.

Be creative. Pick up the tab for someone's Starbucks. Hand a bottle of cold water to a stranger. Pass along an heirloom you know would be meaningful to someone in your family. Share an old family story. Visit someone who needs the gift of time. Send a donation to a charity you've been meaning to support. Dig into your re-gifting closet, wrap something up, and hand it to someone completely at random. (Don't even think about rolling your eyes at me about the whole re-gifting thing. You know you do it).

Then come back here, leave a comment, and tell me what happened. Or, if it's a really great story, write a blog post and link it to my Facebook page. On August 12, I will be selecting one winner from among all who leave comments, and then guess what?

I'll be giving away another un-birthday present!

I'll send the winner a gift card from Kiva, an organization that absolutely rocks my socks. Kiva works with microfinance partners around the world, making loans to entrepreneurs in an effort toward alleviating poverty. That means I'll be giving away something which, if you win it, will enable you to give even more away. How much fun is that?

Through Kiva, loans are repaid by the small business owners who receive them. The current repayment rate is 98.79%. If you make a loan through Kiva, you will receive that money back. You can then either re-invest your money, helping another entrepreneur through Kiva, or use it to to download I-Tunes. Buy more farm animals for your Facebook game. Whatever you want.

I might pick a winner at random by pulling a winner out of a hat. I might spend a few hours on Google trying to figure out how a random number generator works. I might just choose the person whose story makes me laugh so hard that coffee squirts out my nose. I might be more likely to choose you if you click the box on the right and become a follower of this blog, follow me on Twitter, or Like me on Facebook (or leave me a comment saying you already do).

I make no promises. That's the thing with eccentric people--you never know what they'll do. Or why.

I may I wish you all a very, merry, happy, un-birthday! (Unless of course it's your birthday also then, never mind)

(In case anyone is wondering--I receive no compensation whatsoever for promoting Kiva. I'm just doing this because I like the organization, and doing this makes me outrageously happy! )