Giving. Pride. & All That Comes With It.

This post will not only be about the season but also about being there for friends in need. As you know, my blog consists solely on my experiences, present and past, and I not only find solace and relief in writing and receiving feedback from my readers, but keeping it real and communicating my ideas, thoughts, processes, etc.

I have a homie, a very close friend whom I have been kicking it with for a minute. This person is first and foremost a dear friend of mine and also someone who I have a romantic link to. I have even blogged about him a few times so you guys are well aware of who he is and where he stands in my life. Anyway, he and I spoke on Tuesday and I asked him what he had for lunch and he told me he hadn't eaten a thing. I asked him why not. And he himm'd and haw'd and then said he didn't have any money for lunch. I was like whoa, no money? That's not like him to not be holding anything. And then he told me that he had some issues with the bank because of electronic debits and whatnot and he was informed by the bank via text message earlier that day that he currently had a negative balance. And the kicker was he had just been paid but because his balance was in the red, most of his check went to fees and the rest went to bills and whatnot. He only gets paid once a month.

I paused because first of all, I have been there in the past and know what is like to not have anything. I was waiting for him to ask to borrow some money. I wasn't going to just offer it up like that. He and I have spoken of being prideful in the past--he accused me of showing too much pride during numerous exchanges he and I had. So I wanted to call the kettle black and see if he was also had a pride issue. We continued the conversation and he didn't ask me to borrow anything. We ended the phone call and he told me to call him later that night, which I did and he didn't answer.

I called him on Wednesday and he didn't answer as well. I left a message. I began to feel something fishy was going on because we talk like everyday. I was wondering if he wasn't calling me because I didn't offer to let him borrow the money. That feeling nagged me all through Thursday and the beginning of today.

So I was thrilled when I received a message on Myspace from him. He said his celly had been cut off due to non-payment but that he could receive incoming calls and he has been waiting on me to call. I picked up my cell and called him and then I got a recording that said that the customer I dialed was not available.

Complete disconnect.

So I found an old e-mail with his work number and tried to reach him there and got his voicemail. I told him to call me.

He called a few hours later and I didn't beat around the bush. I knew times were hard for him and now he didn't have his wireless access. I offered to wire him some money, enough to get him through a few days. If he needed more in the future, we would discuss it. He changed the subject for awhile and we caught up, but I went back to discussing the money because he was being prideful. I wanted him to accept it. I also told him that he was always talking to me about my pride but he also had some issues with that.

He then got off of his high horse and told me he needed the money. And he was thankful and grateful that I would come through for him like that.

I have talked about this before and discussed this with NightFall914, in that I am giver 300%. I have always been like that and I give way more than I receive. But that is not the point for me. I enjoy giving, enjoy helping others, even if the roles were reversed, they probably wouldn't help me. I don't give because I want reprosity. I give because I want to. Because I need to. And if you have it available, why not?

During this season and time of year, we get all doped up on Christmas gifts and wanting and salivating over materialistic items. And yes, I am part of that group as well. But it is better to give than receive and I work at that everyday, not only during this time of year, but 365. There is no one on this planet that can say I am not a giver and not true to my word when I do offer help.

We can also use an angel at some point in our lives. Today, I was that angel, I put a band-aid on it and I kissed the boo-boo. Halo please!