2000-12-22 - 14:23:02

Well, here we are just a few days before Christmas. Are you ready for the big day? I still have shopping to do and presents to wrap.

I love this time of year though. Even though I stress out about getting everything done on time, I still love the feeling in the air the last few days before Christmas.

I love that for a few days each year I can believe that people are good and nice. I don't care if the feelings come from doubling my sugar intake or from sappy Christmas specials, I treasure those feelings of faith in my fellow humans tremendously.

Can you imagine what life would be like if that Christmasy feeling lasted more than a few days? What if people truly tried to be helpful and kind to their neighbor? Would problems get solved with more efficiency? Or would everything stay basically the same, but we would all have better attitudes?

I think that I am going to try to keep the Santa inside of me alive for longer than just the Christmas season this year. There are so many people and so many organizations that could use a Santa year round. I think that one of my resolutions this year is that I am going to find time to be a volunteer.

I know that I am busy enough that I couldn't commit to doing anything weekly, but I bet I could find a few hours a month to do something. I think that if I was doing something concrete to help other people that it would in turn help me.

I think the biggest challenge will be to find where I can do the most. I am leaning towards literacy as a pet cause. I want to help people learn to read. I want to be there when someone gets that special spark in their eye because for the first time in their life they can read and they are interested in what they are reading.

I may have to start small, reading to/with my friends' kids. While that may not fall officially under the umbrella of volunteer work, it would still give me the opportunity to make a difference in a child's life.

I hope that all of you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a truly blessed holiday season.

Until Next Time....

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