The Christmas Spirit

I worked over the weekend on holiday payroll and the work pressure amongst the rest of the surrounding holiday madness was a tad annoying, I'd have to say.  We also got our first snow of the winter a couple of days ago and we got enough snow and ice to be just dangerous enough and make for some dicey driving.  Despite the many lovely personal moments over the past month, I wasn't quite feeling the Christmas spirit, as it were.

Recently, several work cohorts and I adopted a family that included several young children who needed a little Christmas help.  We gathered and wrapped gifts and gave them to the family last week.  Today, as I was shuffling about work, grumbling for having to be there on a Sunday afternoon, I checked my mailbox and found several handwritten letters of gratitude from the kids of the family-in need "to Santa".  They had enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. I stood there, eyes welling up, and all of that selfish stress just melted away.

As we age, many of us find ourselves uttering a grumble of how kids today have it so much easier than we did, but the recent tragedy in Newtown, CT is just further proof that kids today are faced with realities we never dreamt of.  I'd be the last person to tell anyone how to parent, but as I was preparing to go visit our two favorite kids for Christmas, I got to thinking about how this holiday really is about the young ones and how it felt more necessary than ever to help our kids feel some of that patented magic of Christmas this year. I suddenly couldn't wait to see Sierra and Tanner and celebrate my regained holiday spirit with them.

Ann Curry of NBC News started an extraordinary effort to honor the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy in Newtown, CT.  She started a Twitter campaign that has gone viral called #26acts, suggesting that everyone go out and do 26 random acts of kindness in honor of each of the Newtown victims.  It has grown by leaps and bounds.  One could even click here and  make one of those random acts a donation to benefit the victim's families.  The link connects to a Huff Post article that outlines various donation sources that are reliable organizations.

Merry Christmas, everyone.  Love on your loved ones; especially the young ones.