"Swap you?"

How many times have you said that, heard that or done that?

I phoned my jigsaw loving acquaintance yesterday because another jigsaw loving acquaintance had two jigsaw puzzles she thought J... might like. One is a duplicate she has been given but does not want to keep. The other is one she has done - twice. She does not want to do it again.  I have now arranged to pass them over to J... I also said to her, "L... wondered if you would be interested in swapping some so you both get something new to do?"

The answer was an enthusiastic "Yes, that's a great idea".  I will have to organise it as L... is housebound apart from rare visits to the doctor but it will be worth doing. They will both benefit from any exchange. 

My mother never encouraged us to "swap" as children. I suspect the need to be certain that the transaction was approved by parents on both sides, of equal value and what both children really wanted was all a bit much to negotiate. It was also awkward in a small rural community where my teacher parents were considered to be those you went to consult rather than negotiate.

I have done very little swapping in adulthood too but I know other people who do it. They swap unwanted clothes and plants and other objects. It seems to be amicable enough. 

I came across a couple of people the other day who had swapped armchairs they had inherited. They apparently fit each other's houses perfectly. 

Swapping is not the same as "handing things down". There was plenty of that in my kittenhood. Almost all my clothes were "hand-me-downs". I might have been the oldest kitten but my mother knew plenty of mothers only too happy to pass on things which no longer fitted their offspring. They would even, especially in the case of a certain winter coat, be passed backwards and forwards. (That coat did service to five girls in two families. The Black Cat was the only one not to wear it.) 

Swapping can allow things to go on being used in much the same way as handing things down does though. Our local library runs a "Swap Night" each year for the local teenagers. They can come along and swap clothes with each other under parental approval. It is an initiative which has been welcomed by more than one family with a stretched budget. Perhaps there should be more swapping taking place?