By this time next week, Christmas has already passed, so let me offer a sincere Merry Christmas to you and yours from me and mine slightly ahead of the rush. And if you don't observe the holiday, I apologize for the salutation but not the sentiment.
As I've aged (more like milk than wine), I've learned we all share many different customs and beliefs, but they are often just different ways to say and to celebrate the same occasions, so however and whatever you observe, Happy Holidays.
Based on how my life has gone for 66 Christmases (so far and looking forward to more), I don't need (or miss) snow or frosty weather or sparkling lights and boughs of holly or gift wrap and holiday cards--although all of those are very nice and help complement a contented and contemplative state of mind.
I have lived through some big changes this year, a retirement and the purchase of a house, and realize perhaps better than ever before how grateful I am for the love of a woman for over forty years of marriage in every circumstance imaginable to include even Norwich, Connecticut. Proving again life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans.
I'm grateful for the presence of our two children, Patrick and Michelle. The adults they have each grown to be are as wonderful and extraordinary as the children who blessed my life all those years ago.
This is the time of year when each of us, if not always all of us, has a greater awareness and attitude of gratitude for what we have and what we continue to hold dear. In the joy of the season, it can be hard to remember much less help those in our community who have not been as blessed as we are. Need knows no holiday and for those among us seeking a place to live, a warm meal or maybe just a kind thought, this time of year can be cruel.
But we have an opportunity to brighten Christmas for neighbors in need. This Friday evening, the longest night of the winter, from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Saint Vincent de Paul Place Soup Kitchen, 120 Cliff Street, it’s the Homeless Persons Memorial Dinner, sponsored by Generations Family Health Center.
You can get tickets for their Garlic Roasted Chicken Dinner fundraiser, by calling Jillian Corbin at 860.889.7374, The tickets are seven dollars each or two for ten and if you were to also bring a donation of a non-perishable item with you Friday, I don’t think anyone would mind.
I'm told there's no such thing as strangers, only friends we haven't met and here’s a chance to prove it. Since it is, after all, Christmas, when miracles can and do happen, won’t you share some of your good fortune with someone who’d most appreciate the kind act you are doing and perhaps in that way each of us can be someone else’s Christmas Present?
-bill kenny
No comments:
Post a Comment