Dang That Went Fast

It's hard to believe another Christmas has almost rolled around again. The older you get the quicker time flies by.

Massey came home today and it's nice having two of the three home for the holidays. TJ's still in Australia and it will be our first Christmas without him.

He seems happy though and that makes me happy. We still have his "boy" Charlie living large with us. Loving the little doofus was hard to get used to but fat boy has worked his way into my heart and  now love him like crazy. Tim calls him "Chally Fat Boy" and I call him "Chally TWO Phat." He rarely answers to anything, we  think he's most probably deaf and already know he's dumb but he's deafinitely (small pun) one of the family. He's got a face you GOTTA love.

Unfortunately , this is his SMART look but he's a great dog and Ham and Ziggy both love him.

TJ got him this shirt when he was still just a pup.

So  the Clampetts are doing Christmas again. It's gonna be another slim year but I quit worrying about  that over four years ago. One good thing about not having a lot of money is you learn  to enjoy the Reason for the Season.

I have a great family and I have great kids. I have a great husband who hasn't tried to kill me yet and the best friends a person could hope to have.

My many, many blessings far outweigh any financial problems. I'd rather be broke and loved than rich and unloved.

It was only a few short years ago that we were struggling simply to keep  the utilities on and keep our house out of foreclosure. Oh we're still behind, but who isn't besides rich peeps?

It's gotten better with every year. Sometimes we've been knocked back down a peg or  two but with the survival net we thankfully have (God, family and friends)  always seem to make ends meet.

I often think about  families this time of year who don't even HAVE a house or place to call home TO lose. I think about people suffering  from cancer or other horrible, devastating sometimes (often) fatal diseases. I think about little kids who are abused or neglected. I think about people starving in third world countries.  I think about women who live in countries where they can't even receive an education. I think about how utterly stupid our own politicians are, worried more about the party they are affiliated with than the people they represent.

Then I think about how extremely lucky I am. Money is over rated in my book and if I died  tomorrow could (hopefully would) make it to the Pearly Gates with nothing more than a carry on bag.

I ask you all this holiday season to look around yourself and see others. Lend a hand or just an ear. Touch someone's life. Make a true difference.

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,

stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

Life is all about Karma. What goes around comes around. Life is all about the Golden Rule. Treat others as you  would treat yourself. Life is not what you make of it but what you  take from it and pay forward.


"I think some people are too scared, or something. I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way they are - even if they're bad - to change. 'Cause they kind of give up. And when they do, everybody kind of loses." (Trevor in Pay It Forward)

Our world is in serious need of a make over. I worry about the world as much  as I do about my own family. We all live in the same place.


We'll be just fine, it's the other almost seven billion I worry  about.

 
"You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one."

A very Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. Take a minute, even just ten seconds out of your day to  think about people less fortunate than yourself and then count YOUR blessings. Count them one by  one and you will also be amazed what The Lord has done.

Til next  time, which most probs  will be about  ten hours...COTTON