Charity begins at home

They say charity begins at home. Well in our case, I think it begins in someone else's home. Today, friends Andy and Louise gave us a tagalong bike for Oliver. Not only that, they gave us another bike for Oliver (which sadly turns out to be a bit too big for him at the moment), a trailgator, a smart little children's table with two chairs and a nice armchair for Oliver.

I'm sure you'll agree this is generous, but I must add that this is not the first time I have benefited from the fact that their children outgrow things just in time for mine to benefit. I've already had numerous of their car seats. And before I even had kids they already gave me a 3 piece suite!

They are very modest in their generosity, saying these things would go to the charity shop otherwise, but regardless of who benefits it is still mightily generous in my opinion.

We try to give away lots of clothes and toys to friends/relatives and recently gave away Lucy's old cot. Let's face it, in the current economic climate, most of us are glad of a little financial lift. And so while we might sell the odd thing on eBay and give more to charity shops, it's always nicer to be able to give for free to someone you know will appreciate it. I certainly know we appreciate the good fortune to have friends like Andy and Louise.