Issue #142 | October 30, 2026 | Previous issues​

Hey Reader,

If you haven't watched The Princess Bride (one of the greatest movies of all time), you won't understand my joke:

Never mess with an Italian when generosity is on the line.

Go watch the movie.

It's worth it. It's hilarious.

Here's a clip of the scene I referenced if you prefer:

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​Clip in case the YouTube video doesn't load.​

A few weeks ago, I discovered that a fellow writer and friend published a memoir. (Yes, she's Italian.)

Since I love supporting fellow writers and friends, I wanted to purchase her book. However, she insisted on giving me a copy for free, even intending to drop one off at my house.

I beat her to it, though.

I bought her book on Amazon before she could stop by.

And being the lovely, generous person that she is, guess what she did?

She made homemade scones and delivered them to my house while they were still warm!

I'm not going to lie. She one-upped me!

You have no idea how touched I was.

My mom died 12 years ago and I miss her cooking and baking.

I don't know many women who still love cooking and baking for others. And I'm certainly not one of them! LOL

In my not-so-humble defense, I have 3 hungry males to feed and I'm the only girl. Thankfully, they help a lot. (Yes, they read this newsletter. 😉)

Anyway, the way to anyone's heart (not just men) is homemade cooking. I was reminded of that after I devoured those delicious scones.

And then, my friend texted me saying that she forgot to stuff money into the scone bag to reimburse me for the book I'd already bought.

I'm SO GLAD she forgot.

She would have started a generosity war!

Although...wait.

Come to think of it, wasn't I the one who started it by refusing to accept her book in the first place?

That got me thinking.

How many times have I told over-givers to allow giving in both directions?

You know how it works.

They give and give and give, but as soon as you try to give back they get embarrassed. They try to stop you from giving. They refuse to accept a kindness. They go out of their way to help others, but don't like asking for help.

Or, they downplay their giving, but can't thank you enough for yours.

Been there. Done that.

And you know what, it's time to give ourselves permission to receive.

You don’t have to out-give the giver.

Generosity isn't a 50-50 transaction. We don't have to repay every kindness to the person who gave it.

Sometimes we're the giver. Sometimes we're the receiver. And sometimes we pay that kindness forward to someone else.

And that's perfectly okay!

When you let somebody care for you, you give them the pleasure of giving.

When we hinder someone from giving to us, we're depriving them of the pleasure that comes with giving.

We often quote the famous bible verse that says, "there's more happiness in giving than in receiving." (Acts 20:35)

But sometimes we overlook one little word in that verse: more.

There's more happiness in giving, implying that there's happiness in receiving too!

So giving and receiving both lead to happiness.

What a wonderfully wise equation!

And if everyone is giving, guess what?

Someone has to be on the receiving end!!!

Why not YOU?

Still, I'd think twice before messing with an Italian when generosity is on the line! 🤣

As for me, I'm declaring a truce in the Scone Wars.

With love and gratitude,

Anna

P.S. If you're one of those people who can't accept a gift without immediately plotting how to repay it, consider this your permission slip to just say THANK YOU. 😉

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