. Last year, I started a tradition of GIVING – through acts of service or giving gifts of love to others on my birthday. I was inspired by a 30 year old memory of my late grand uncle (he was my mother’s uncle) who had taught me an important lesson about giving when I was…
. This morning, I was once again reminded that everything happens for a reason. For Christmas, my daughter gave me one of the Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul books. I have been reading it slowly, enjoying it immensely. It has made me laugh and cry. It is a book that I could see…
. One precious Mother’s Day my beautiful niece, Louise Elizabeth wished me Happy Mother’s Day – she’d kept her Christmas cracker gift, a pink plastic heart. Louise tied a pink string around it and tied it around my neck…. I explained to Louise that because I didn’t have children I don’t get wished or given…
. I was working a corporate job I hated but the money was decent. It was about three days before Christmas. I’d headed to the supermarket for groceries and in the ice cream section I found a woman weeping. I asked her what was wrong and she explained that her husband had cleared out the…
. Years ago I began a tradition of giving back for each holiday we celebrated. One Christmas during a particularly prosperous time in our country, I was shocked to find that there was a “shortage” of in need families. I began to think about who else needed help around the holiday. We always think of…
. Last Christmas eve, my daughter and I were at Walmart buying a Christmas dinner feast for a family we’d heard was in need. While we were there, we saw a young couple approach a family that looked like they were struggling financially. The couple chatted with the family a little and then gave them a…
. Being a single parent is hard, but losing my job at Christmas made it harder. I had put a few things on layaway before losing my job one year. I went to cancel part of the items and pay for what I could afford. I began to cry and explain my situation to the…
. Today I took my two boys ages 5 & 7 to my workplace to give my colleagues some Christmas Cheer. The boys handed out chocolates and lollies, and wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Towards the end of our morning Casey (the 5 year old) says to me “it’s nice being kind to people, isn’t it…
Something special happened to me and my husband 20 years ago, right before Christmas, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. We were living in New York but had applied for a mortgage to buy a home back in Ohio. It was iffy whether we would get approved and the loan officer told us…
I’m going to take a minute to have a proud mom moment. It’ll embarrass him, but that can’t be helped. My oldest is 18, just turned in November. He’s been working at Pizza Hut for just about a year now.
. The week before Christmas 2013, I shopped at a discount grocery store. While standing in line, I made small talk with the elderly woman in front. She shared how excited she was that her family was going to visit her and how fortunate she was that her Christmas bonus would be able to cover…
. The year before last, my husband and I were having a hard time. Christmas came around and we didn’t have the money to get much for our three kids. We left the house one day and when we came home, there were presents piled around the Christmas tree and a Christmas dinner on the table.