Happy Birthday To Me! Time For A Giveaway!

I think I am turning into a hugger.

I have never really been a hugger. The reasons run pretty deep and aren’t really necessary to discuss here, but suffice it to say that there are just a few people in this world (up to now) that I let into my personal dance space.

This seems to be changing, and I am not sure why.

Turns out, though, that there are actually TONS of people I want to hug. This urge sneaks up on me when I am feeling some sort of overwhelming gratitude and that seems like the best, most authentic way to express it. Sometimes it is because I have experienced something profound because of a person, and sometimes it’s just because they are exactly who they are in that particular moment.

And I don’t just want to give a polite, back-patting, upper-body hug. I want a full-on bear hug. I want to feel the whole of a person. Not in a creepy, back-to-the-motel kind of way. In a connected way.

#TheresADifference

I feel this way towards strangers sometimes, even. Weird.

The more I think about it, though, this impulse is not actually so strange. Turns out, a hug is a gift, of sorts. And I LOVE giving people stuff.

More than getting stuff, even.

If I have a “business model” for Charm City Edibles (or my old private school, HoneyFern) it would be to give away as much stuff as humanly possible – actual stuff but also time and expertise.

Give money. Give attention. Give back. Pay forward.

I have always bought coffee for the person behind me (and orders of food in drive-thrus, back when I actually ate food from a drive thru). I paid for tolls.

Sometimes I give away too much,  and I have a hard time paying for things for myself.

And then I get a phone call with a new opportunity or a new idea.

I find the more I give away, the more I get back. The best part is that even if I don’t get back, I still feel better. Giving feels good.

So on that note, I have a giveaway. And not for any reason, except maybe it’s my birthday month, and I think it’s especially important to give to those around you as you celebrate another year on the planet. And maybe it has been a rough time in this country on a number of different levels, and giving changes the tone of things, just a little.

Or maybe this is just like a big hug from me to you, stranger on the interwebs.

In fact, this giveaway was prompted by a stranger (not anymore!) on the interwebs. I have (mostly) abandoned The Facebook for a variety of reasons and spent more of my attention on Instagram. One day I came across a post by the lovely Flavor and Soul (I’m going to keep her name a secret in case it is), highlighting a shirt she designed in the shape of Baltimore City with all of the foods that make us famous.

I got in touch (well, maybe I pestered her a little, but that’s semantics), and there it is: I got myself a new shirt and want to give you one, too, just for being you.

So what do you do? Subscribe to the blog (or tell me you are already subscribed in the comments below!), and visit me on Facebook and Instagram. If you already follow me on instagram, tag a friend in the post for this giveaway for another entry. One winner will be randomly chosen, and the winner will be contacted (and hopefully send me a pic in their new shirt!).

Contest runs 3/20 to 3/27. Good luck!

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