Latest Happenings

We are rolling along with our special holiday donations of stuffed animals to the residents of nursing homes. I did three donations today to homes in Holliston, Franklin and Blackstone and another one yesterday. I usually speak with the activities director at the nursing homes- they are very happy to have our donations to give to the residents. One of the directors was saying to me how she was scrambling to get gifts together to for the residents to open on Christmas morning.

I walked into one nursing home today and ended up in the main activity room- the activities director was there and she introduced me to the room of residents and told them that they were getting gifts of stuffed animals. The residents that were there were so happy- it was really touching. Some of them called out goodbye to me as I left. I got in my car and started to driving to the next destination and kept thinking about how that is really what the holidays are all about- brightening peoples lives. It doesn't matter how big a gift is, it's the love and thought that's behind it. The stuffed animals are only small items, but when I went into that nursing home and saw how happy the residents were to get these little items, it was such a strong reminder of what really matters- how important it is to let people know that they are cared for. Even though I love the holidays, I get a little bummed at Christmas time because I don't have much money to spend on gifts for my family. I used to spend more and go over my budget, but these last few years I've really cut back and stuck to a budget.  It is hard when you look at all the ads for cool items to buy as gifts and you think about what you would like to buy for the people you love, but in the end it's not what it's all about. Times are tight for so many people, so I know I'm not alone in this. Going into the nursing homes these past few days, particularly this one today when I got to interact briefly with the residents was a great reminder that even a small gift matters.

Tomorrow, I need to follow up with some more local nursing homes. I want to get as many donations done as possible before Christmas. I still need to work on my 2012 plans- I haven't done enough on that yet. I also need to order more address labels- I didn't realize that I had run out of our address sheets and had to actually print our return address on an envelope- so unprofessional looking! Anyways, I'm off to eat some more delicious tangerines. I'm usually not a huge tangerine fan, but these ones from Trader Joe's are little orange pieces of heaven! Until tomorrow friends...