Phase I of Operation Magic Requirements complete. Phase II underway. Work is fun ... NOT! :) Hey, it's a paycheck. And I'll take it. For my ever increasing bills. Holy crap. One thing I gotta say - has anyone ever paid over $800 for regular maintenance on their Toyota? I totally feel like we got screwed up the bum at our local toyota dealer. Well, not so local - about 30 minutes north of us. Eight Hundred Friggin Dollars. Granted, we got new shiny brake pads (THAT SQUEAL! GREAT JOB, GUYS!) in the "deal." I swear to God, I just want to bitchslap 'em. Needless to say, we'll be finding a new dealership to get maintenance for while it's still under warranty. I'm 'bout to bust out and buy me a friggin Hyundai for that kind of money. Sheeeee-et.
How do I tell Owen that Santa isn't coming this year because [insert dealership name here] royally effed over our family? Huh? Tell me how I do that! We'll make do and I'll make some ornaments out of clay and some animals out of pipe cleaner.
But seriously, that brings me to another point. I was listening to the radio station here this morning that does the Baby DJ toy drive. And they started to read a letter from a lady who had written in. And immediately, my cynical heart thinks, "Great. A letter from a woman who probably got left by her husband and doesn't have cash to buy her kids toys, cause she spent it on cheap booze and cigs." I don't know why I thought that, I just did. I'm very, very jaded, in case you haven't figured that out yet.
Anyway, so I'm listening to her story, and by the second sentence, my eyes are welling up with tears. Halfway thru the second paragraph, I'm crying. Midway thru the letter, I am bawling my eyes out. Luckily I was less than a mile from work when this happened, so I didn't have to drive far all teary eyed. Basically, it started out v. trite - "I have two kids, 14 and 8 ... yada yada yada ... I don't have a job ... husband works ... rent is late ... yada yada yada." But then she went on - and apparently, has this illness that has taken over her life - docs say she'll be permanently wheelchair bound w/in 6 months & working could be life threatening - but she is determined to find a job she can do in a wheelchair since she would give her life for her kids; her 8-year-old daughter has lupus; they don't qualify for welfare since they make $100 more than the cutoff line, but would rather do w/out welfare; no insurance for her ailment; meds for her daughter are expensive, but necessary; ... Gah, there were like a ton more things.
It just really made me realize how grateful I am to have certain things in life so many of us take for granted - a roof over our heads, someone (be it a husband, brother, sister, wife, neighbor, pet) to tell/show us they love us, and a meal in our bellies every night. Such things we take for granted, but are so hard to come by for so many people. I wish I could do so much for everyone, but I guess it's just one person at a time. We donated to Make a Wish Foundation this year. I'd really like to go back and re-evaluate and donate more. Or perhaps Second Harvest or Coalition for the Homeless. I'm thinking the former two.
The holidays can be so lonely. Hope yours aren't.
Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward Men.
Thankyouverymuch, no *I'm* crying.
I feel so guilty for complaining about my Salvation Army Angel Tag kid. And also, for saying that I didn't want to buy a raffle ticket from my local elementary school because I 'already pay taxes.'
I so heard the same thing this morning!!! Back when Rosie had her own talk show, I used to love to watch her at this time of year (pre-View, now she's just kind of annoying)- she used to make sure that she spread the cheer around the holidays. Her motto was: If you have a lot, you give a lot.
We also just got a newsletter from a friend of ours- last year she lost her husband in January, and it changed her life (obviously). She's still coping with the loss, but she's found a greater purpose- she spent much of this year doing volunteer medical work in the Honduras and in New Orleans. At the end of the newsletter, she wrote one simple line that I just can't get out of my head: "To whom much has been given, much will be expected."
One of my favorite charities is Ronald McDonald House (where parents of sick kids stay while their children are admitted at nearby hospitals receiving treatment for life-threatening illnesses).
It's not just a priviledge for us to reach out at this time of year (or, indeed, at any time of year) and lend a helping hand, it's our responsibility. Because, truly, "there but for the grace of God...."
One of my favs is 65 roses...cystic fibrosis. I also like ronald mcdonald house. And if anyone wants to save up their coke can etc tabs for Hailey and Justin that would be great. This years fundraiser at the school is to collect those for Ronald McDonald house :). The 106.7 stories made me tear up quite often on my way into Lake Mary many many times....