Why “I’m A Giver”?

“Hey, I’m a giver….”

I’ve been telling people that for a few years now.  And it was never-“I’m a giver”  It was always-“I’m a giver………..”  Because what I was giving was sarcasm.  Not just funny-ha-ha sarcasm, but often it was biting, cutting sarcasm that tiptoed the fine line between funny and aaaalmost mean enough to be hurtful.  And when I heard “Oh, thanks a lot Eric.” I enjoyed responding with, “Hey, I’m a giver…..”

So it was with profound giddiness that I asked Megan make me a T-shirt that read “giver”.  Nothing else.  Just five letters that I could wear and let everyone know that I was ready to dole out what one recipient referred to as “your flippant remarks which you so adeptly sling”.

And then I started wearing the shirt.  It made me laugh and I didn’t think strangers would take much note of the inside joke I was wearing like a billboard.  But I was wrong.  Everyone noticed.

At Six Flags an old man commented, “You know, I really like that shirt.  If more people in this world had your attitude about life, this would be a better place.  God bless you.”  Well, I couldn’t help but agree completely with his sentiment but even my ego has its limitations.  Maybe it was something about his old-manliness, or the fact that he invoked the Creator is his misunderstanding of my catch phrase…but I felt the need to correct him.  I explained the background of my shirt and his old-man hand recoiled from my shoulder as if he had just realized he was holding a snake.  He didn’t say anything, just stepped back shaking his head in disappointment.

It was the reaction from our local librarian that really threw me for a loop.  Her purple hair and tattoos (yep, she’s a librarian) made me think that she’d surely appreciate my snarkiness.  But it was the disappointed look I got from her that made me reevaluate my stance on my giverness.

Along about that time Megan finally talked me into committing to this blog.

When searching for a name, nothing seemed to fit but “I’m a giver”.  It’s a part of who I am.  And it’s a three word summary of what I want to accomplish with this blog.

I still enjoy sarcasm.  It’s my love language.  And you can expect a liberal sprinkling of it here.  But I hope that what you’ll find here will be more than just sarcasm.  Just like I hope my friends find more in me than just sarcasm.  I want to give some sarcasm, some hard-earned advice and some genuinely thoughtful thoughts on what I think is most important in life.

I’m a giver.  It’s who I am.  But it’s also who I want to be.