Hiding in Plain Sight

When I was new to parenthood I found myself spending money in crazy ways at Christmastime.

One year I couldn't stop buying stuff, and even brought home a Barbie for our preschool-aged daughter two days before Christmas.?“But you don’t even want Barbies in the house!” Shannon reminded me.?“But what if I haven’t done enough? What if her Christmas isn’t amazing? Besides, it was on sale for $9.99.”

A few years in I tried to get a grip. We pared our gift-giving down to four simple items: something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read.

We set a budget so everybody knew how much would be spent on them.?

We?each made our lists, and then tore them into four strips - one per item.?

We took turns drawing each other's ragged bits of paper, and when the final item was left it became Santa’s gift to give.?

Finally, we collaborated on pricing so we could shop independently and stay on budget.?It was a thing of beauty.?

For several years our gift pile was small yet meaningful, and we built up a nice little tradition.?

But this year? This year it all went to hell.?

It started when Shannon and I realized there wasn’t anything we wanted enough to spend money on…which gave way to conversations about privilege and abundance…which left us telling the kids we didn’t want them to buy any gifts for us.?

Then Shannon pointed out that our attic is full of things we once loved and have mostly forgotten about. He asked the kids to shop the attic for his Christmas gifts, and give him something they thought he would enjoy bringing back into his daily life.?I followed suit.?

It made perfect sense. Our daughter often refers to our attic as “The Attic Used Bookstore” (and honestly? It has poetry, plays, philosophy, novels, picture books, dictionaries in several languages, essay collections, and cultural studies texts from grad school. She’s not wrong.). So I asked her to shop The Attic Used Bookstore to give me the gift of beautiful prose.?

Christmas Day itself was weird because Shannon worked a 12 hour shift. We had our special meals and family time on December 24th, but because our youngest really wanted to open gifts on Christmas Day, we found ourselves at 9:00 pm sitting in front of a fire, sleepily exchanging gifts.?

As odd as it was, it was also surprisingly comforting to sit with the kids – who we got to see this year as versions of their not-so-distant adult selves, sleeping past noon instead of waking before dawn to check for reindeer tracks – and exchange modest gifts that were valuable for the memories they already hold.

Since then I’ve been reflecting on all the places we stash abundance -- how we find it, enjoy it, then tuck it away and forget it.

Which has me wondering: how might hidden abundance show up for (or be hiding from) you and your team?

?? Maybe in that bit of department budget that supports travel. If you travel for work, or if conferences are an essential part of your professional development, that bit of financial support may not feel like abundance.

And sure, yeah, it is...and there’s hidden abundance there, too. What about the advantages of travel that aren’t related to the work or the learning? The quiet hotel room. The clean towels you didn’t have to wash and fold. The gift of seeing new sights, eating food you might not have access to at home, hearing conversations and noticing smells that expand your sense of the world.

?? Maybe in the Free Bagel Fridays hosted in the cafeteria or break room. I’ve worked several places that hosted a version of this for all staff, and it felt like a reliable perk - a quick way to let work cover the cost of one of my breakfasts.?

And while it's absolutely that, there's also the hidden abundance that comes with food and fellowship: The gift of the walk with your work bestie over to grab coffee. The time to check in with each other. The space to make small talk with folks you don’t see all the time. The coffee and bagel are certainly a gift, and so too are the time and space to deepen relationships.?

For me and my new reading pile, the abundance isn’t just the reminder of the various ways I’ve invested in books over the decades. It's not even the insight into what my daughter considers beautiful prose. I'm realizing, as I make time to read the books she chose specifically for me, that the abundance is also simply the gift of the reminder to sit still, book open and pages turning, enjoying the beauty of being transported into a world of someone else’s making, at another person's invitation.

If you look around your workplace, I'm guessing you'll see hidden abundances lying in plain sight. What are they? How do they move you, heighten your awareness, or shift you toward gratitude? Comment below and share your treasures with me. ????