True Kindness and Joy..................................by Diane Ogden

Most of us expect kindness and joy at Christmas time.  It is we look forward to every year,  November and December.  We can forget, set aside, or maybe override the pain of war, school shootings, family problems, abused animals and so on.  As December approaches and lights sparkle in windows, roofs, bushes, trees, in shapes of animals and Santa's,  it seems all that sparkling reflects to our brains like the sky in a calm lake.  Peace on Earth.  Then again thru the cracks come the old life problems and pains of course. 

I was experiencing a very heavy "brain day" yesterday.  Over the top in fact.  My faith had hit the floor boards. Wait, we don't have floor boards anymore.  Do over.  My faith had hit the floor with no where and no one to lift it back up.  Or so I thought. 

This Christmas I had decided to gift all my clients and their children.  Since the death of my father my own family has pretty much gone to the winds of time....dead.    Enough said on that subject.   And, considering if I am not giving I am not happy.....  Then again I am not sure I thought this through as thoroughly as I should have considering we are talking about 88 people plus all the cats and dogs adding to over 100!  What was I thinking?  Actually it has given me more joy than I expected.  Cats got catnip, dogs got small bags of no corn no wheat treats...  "little men" rec'd lighted spiders and "little women" got bubble baths and or pink lighted spiders and more!  For the adults I chose soy candles and or Christmas bags of red velvet cupcake mixes and brownies and coffee cakes.  Fun! 

I was merely going through the steps of working every day, coming home to washing supplies, choosing what to wrap up for who the following day and maybe not enjoying it as much as I should have.  Until!!!   I rec'd this thank you and JOY photo's of these little boys and girl opening  their simple tiny gifts .....   The joy in their faces transferred directly to my faded emotions and lit them up like a brilliant Christmas tree that filled all the cells of my mind and spirit.  That may sound dramatic but let me assure you I cant find enough words for what these simple photos offered me.  I am the one that would like to send and thank you for a thank you.  LOL.

                              This is Nora with her Hello Kitty drawing pad and new clay

                            This would be Harold and Charlie whose favorite gift was the
                                                            lighted SPIDERS!!