Merry Christmas Everyone!

Usually Christmas gets me down. For some reason, not this year. I have been happy, introspective, and reflective. I have not allowed myself to focus so much on myself and my usual grief. The holiday season brings up loss for me and how much I have lost. I could sit and whine and cry about the fact that I have lost 95% of the people I ever loved but I just didn’t want to this year. And I will say it probably took a good decade to quit that. This year my focus was on the reason for the season (I know how corny that sounds). It’s the celebration of the birth of my Savior and his life. Another focus for me was the way Jesus lived his life and how he helped people and loved people. My parents loved doing this, too. And at this time of year there are so many people in need. I am a bargain shopper and was able to look for great bargains and find some wonderful deals and wonderful gifts for some kids for Christmas.

I also found ways to give that didn’t cost me a dime. There were organizations that benefitted just by me “liking” something on Facebook. I can click a button! I can like something if that means they are going to get money!

Today if you want to give a present to someone you don’t know, you still can. You can go to an online group that has lots of people that needs help financially with applications requesting funding. It is a legitimate group and all you have to do is decide what dollar amount you want to give and pull out your money card and put it in! It’s that simple. It’s called Modest Needs and they have many people who have requested help. It’s a year round organization so don’t let my Christmas post fool you.

Merry Christmas! I wish your heart be merry and light and all your Christmases be bright.

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It Hasn’t Been The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

I have dealt with the grouchiest people lately! If you read my blog, you know I talk to the public a lot. And I do mean a LOT. I have been seeing and hearing so much hatefulness through the phone and in person that I have just been wanting to scream at some people lately.

I have been slammed at work and getting yelled at by people who don’t know me. They get mad when I can’t help them. Then proceed to call me names. I thought it would ease up a little. No. Not even a little.

Then the other day was an epic day for bullshit and it was like someone had flipped my bitch switch. I think they thought they could just do a drive by with hatefulness and I wouldn’t say anything back. That is this person’s typical way of handling life. She is hateful to people and then runs and hides behind an authority figure for cover. Well, I haven’t been feeling real good about that type of interaction so I let her know how I felt…in detail and with examples. Let’s just say she didn’t get the resolution she was expecting and she wasn’t too happy about it. What really got me, though, is I was minding my own freaking business when she decided to pull this crap. Why did she feel the need to start something?

And I don’t get people’s attitudes right now. It’s the holidays for goodness sakes! I want to reflect on what just happened in Newtown, CT and what those poor people are going through. I want to also reflect on the birth of Jesus and the effect of that. I don’t want to deal with pettiness and meanness. It’s ridiculous. I just want to tell some of these people to grow up. The last thing I want this time of year is to have this crap of people acting childish and pitching fits and causing drama. Where’s this peace on Earth I have heard sung about? Goodwill toward men? Joy to the World?

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Fruitcake Nostalgia

Most people have strong feelings about fruitcake. You love it or hate it. I am just not a fan of it. Too much flavor going on in one bite for me. But my Daddy loved it! I mean, he didn’t care if we got a ton of them at Christmas time because he could eat them like crazy! And he was skinny as a rail so it didn’t matter. It used to kill me how that man could eat. It is funny to think back on. He’d start out saying he was just going to eat a little bit. Then there was a little more. Before he knew it, he’d have eaten the majority of it or all of it. (one of those log fruitcakes) This is why we would buy several of them at a time. Daddy also loved that I was a bargain shopper and would find them after Christmas in the “reduced price” area of the store. That way I could buy more.

So I saw fruitcakes today and felt nostalgia hit me hard. I thought of Daddy eating that cake that I despised. Tears filled my eyes. Bittersweet. I smiled and thought about how much he could pack away. I thought about how much I miss Daddy and how long it has been since I have seen him. I think of my parents daily and they are never from my thoughts but some days something just kinda cracks my heart a little.  I have a feeling that the closer it gets to Christmas and my birthday that it will be more pronounced. That is just how it is. But the important aspect is to find that special memory that makes you smile. (I have a song playing in my head as I type this. “Smile though your heart is aching…”)

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Won’t You Give?

This time of year is really hard on a lot of people. Then I see a lot of people online who post about how they spent so much money on themselves. I am hoping that they are also considering helping others, too. There are a lot of people who need some help. I don’t care who you are or what your political beliefs are, I’d like for  you to think for a moment about a kid on Christmas morning getting nothing. It’s not their fault that their parents are poor. It’s not their fault that the parents are possibly irresponsible. All they’re going to be thinking of on Christmas morning is how they didn’t get shit and it really hurts. If they do happen to have internet access, they’re going to see all of their friends posting about what all great presents they got. When they go back to school, everyone is going to say, “I got this or that for Christmas! What did you get?!” How are they going to feel when they have to lie? It’s going to hurt like you can’t even imagine.

I’m asking people who can afford to help others to do so. My Mama and Daddy had to have help for me at Christmas when I was a kid and I know it was hard. They weren’t lazy; we were just poor and struggling hard. If you have the financial means to help someone have a decent Christmas, please do so. You can find names on Angel Trees, through churches, through schools, through the Salvation Army, through local charitable organizations. If you don’t have time to shop, hell, tell me what age group and I’ll pick out everything online and send you a list and all you have to do is go to the website and pay for it! It’ll be sent to your home.

Encourage your workplace to get involved! Mine is sponsoring a whole family as well as another child through a local charitable organization. And don’t forget the older children! They’re often forgotten. They still want and need attention, too.

This is something that is heavy on my heart. I hope you’ll care about it as much as me.

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I Got My Early Christmas Present!

I usually don’t buy myself presents. I decided this year that I deserved a present, though. I have gone through a lot and I really deserved something. I don’t buy things all throughout the year and I don’t buy a lot of expensive stuff. And I didn’t even buy an expensive Christmas present for myself. I bought something under $40 for myself that I hope to use quite a bit. I bought an e-reader. I know I have complained about how a real book is better. I stand by that. There is nothing like flipping the pages of a book. It is completely better. But I don’t have time to get to the store to buy books all the time. Plus I can download free books! I love free!

I got my e-reader through Wal-Mart on Cyber Monday. It was $20 off and I purchased it through a site that gives me points for purchases through affiliates. Win-win. I made points for buying something I was going to get anyway. I was amazed when it was on my doorstep Wednesday. I didn’t choose expedited shipping but it was there in a flash! It’s nothing fancy. It’s a basic e-reader and does basic stuff but I don’t need fancy. I need something easy and convenient.

One thing I figured about it was that it would help me with my writing. I don’t think I can write as well until I read more. I haven’t had time to really pick up a good book in a while. Now I can. Anyone have any suggestions on something good to read?