Angels

In past years at work, we have done the traditional gift exchange - White Elephant, Secret Santa, etc. As much fun as that has been - and believe me, we have had some pretty great exchanges - this year we decided to participate in a charity - The Angel Tree. This has been one of the most memorable Christmases I can remember.

We started by collecting from the folks at work - we received $500+ which was so exciting!! We then went and selected a few names from the Christmas Angel Tree at the Macy*s store down the street. We selected 3 children and 3 adults. The cards were so sweet and their wishes were simple - on requesting only a "calendar for the upcoming year". We did most of the shopping on Wednesday afternoon, and completed the shopping today. I am not a professional shopper like some women I have met, and I am ashamed to say I was unprepared. My feet hurt, I was annoyed by the lines that took longer than 5 minutes, and I just wanted to go home and sleep. But, as we were shopping, we saw another family that was participating in a similar sort of charity - buying gifts and necessities for others. They were racing around the store with HUGE smiles on their faces, wondering what they could do for someone who was less fortunate than they. As I saw them, I resolved to stop whining and appreciate the things I had and that I had the opportunity to participate in this. We had such a great time shopping and I hope that the Angels we selected will get as much joy this Christmas as I have had. Sean and I have decided to make this a yearly tradition. I think it is important to instill the idea that there is more to Christmas than just gifts - that it is a time that we are to think of others rather than ourselve and to spread the Christmas spirit around.

Merry Christmas to all!!