As I am preparing to host a GSD party on April 16, 2019, I am becoming fully aware that I am twice cursed when it comes to giving thoughtful pinches to teachers. Side Note #1: For those of you who are not familiar with the acronym GSD - in this specific case, as with many cases, it’s short for Get SHIT Done. Back in August, at my launch party, a.k.a. “Letting You Know What I Am Up To” party, I made a promise to help friends put together Winter Holiday and End of the Year teacher gifts by hosting GSD parties. Since I couldn’t get my act together in time to host a GSD event for the Winter gifts, I was extra determined to host one for the End of the Year gifts. Ok, now that you’re caught up, shall we dive into my self-awareness issues?

When I want to give a thoughtful pinch to a teacher, I’m cursed because my immediate thought goes to who am I EXCLUDING by doing this? Why should the main teacher get gifts but the music teacher or the media specialist not get one too? Are they not touching and impacting the lives of my children? In our lower school, each class has a lead teacher, an assistant and a whole lot of specialty teachers. Side Note #2: As I was putting Valentine’s Day pinches into the teacher’s mailboxes at school, I realized out loud that I forgot to make a pinch for the assistant Spanish teacher. Ay caramba! The office assistant heard me and said, “Seriously, you can’t get everyone. She’ll be fine, you ‘ll be fine. Enough.” Thanks to her, I was talked off of the ledge. My self-imposed obligation to include everyone and not exclude anyone is a curse because the list can go on forever. If someone has a hand in educating my children to be the best versions of themselves, I want to show them my gratitude.

Another curse when it comes to giving thoughtful pinches to teachers is that I’m loyal AF. For those who need a translation for the acronym AF, well… I’ll defer that one. Here is our gift-giving schedule for pinches every school year: We start giving gifts to teachers for Halloween, then Thanksgiving, Xmas gifts, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s, Easter (Spring), Earth Day, Mother’s Day (only for lead teachers who are moms) and finally, the End of the Year. In addition, if I find out what day the lead teacher’s bday is, there is sure to be a pinch coming their way for that too. All of those opportunities to give gifts is NOT the second curse. FWIW, being generous frequently is NEVER a curse. Side Note #3: FWIW, is a new acronym for me but you may already use it - for what it’s worth. Here’s why being loyal is a curse: If a teacher is on the list, they are on the list from Halloween all the way to the End of the Year. To further explain, I can’t knowingly give a teacher a Halloween gift and not a St. Patrick’s Day gift. This madness stems from the fact that I’m anything but consistent in everything else that I do in my life. Therefore, I strive to be the champion of consistent gift-giving. Curses. BTW, this is exactly how I operate with my lists for my village people. The mail carrier, the housekeeper, the neighbors etc. Once you’re on the list, you’re on the list.

Now getting back to Side Note #1 - I am super excited to help my friends get their shit done at my GSD event next week. It sounds very crass calling assembling gifts “shit” but when we’re all busy and thoughtfulness is an item on our “to-do” list, I think it’s fair to call it shit. My hope is to make it super easy for my friends to give their End of the Year teacher gifts because I’m doing the shopping and gathering of all the supplies. Friends will have the choice to come assemble their pinches and hang out. Or they can come socialize (or not) and just pick up their pre-wrapped “to-go” gifts. Should I worry that if I make this easy for my friends that they may catch the two curses and start loyally giving too many people gifts? Um, that is what my business is all about!

In the end, I am cursed but I consider myself pretty lucky to have these thoughtfulness issues. They do more good than harm, right? Nonetheless, I’m not going to lie. As I collect these orders from my friends for this GSD event, I am finding that the average number of teachers on their lists are between 1-3 teachers per child. I can sense the sanity that these families have giving one teacher a gift and I am VERY JEALOUS! Lol. J/K. (Do we need side notes for lol and j/k?).

Pinches,

Barb