Tuesday, December 22, 2020

My New Holiday Tradition.....

Just a few days until Christmas. We sit in our decorated condo, it's a warmish day, and I just got back from my second year of making myself feel good. Now that sounds rather selfish, but my little expedition does make me feel good.

Dave and I are very fortunate and we've weathered this year with boredom knocking at the door, but no worries about food on the table or eviction or health care. Our lives are pretty much "normal" excerpt we aren't going anywhere! As I watched the months go by and took care of our monthly bills I realized that we were living way below budget. It was pretty obvious that this was due to the COVID virus and the fact we weren't taking any trips, or going to restaurants, the theater, the movies. 

So today was my day to drive on up to our local food bank and give out some anonymous holiday cards with a little surprise inside. I parked and talked to one of the women in charge. It was different than last year when I was able to interact quickly with families as they left the food pantry. This year the clients waited in their cars while the volunteers packed boxes and bags with the items they requested. The volunteer suggested I could just go down the line and give my card to anyone with a lanyard around their neck....the "identification" that meant they were waiting for food. 

So I took a quick walk from car to car....six in all....each driver lowered their window and I just said "happy holidays" and passed my card in to them and walked to the next car. As I finished and went back to my car the first recipient asked "What is your name?" I just smiled (behind my mask, waved and shrugged). She echoed my smile and said "This gift came at just the perfect time!"

So yes...that made me feel good. Six envelopes with $50 in each. A small contribution but I hope it helped to spread just a little holiday cheer during a difficult year.

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