TGIF and Christmas Eve

Thought for the day -
Christmas Story -
Pet Safety Tips during the Holidays -
Politically Correct Holiday Greeting -
Tracking URL to Follow Santa tonight -

I started this yesterday and forgot to go back and send it.
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All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you."
Dr. Wayne Dyer

I find this quote to be the basis of all New Year's Resolutions. It is only myself I can change.
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Christmas story - what it is really all about

White Envelopes

It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it, overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma, the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son, Kevin, who was 12 that year was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended, and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church.

These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in the spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them." Mike loved kids, all kids, and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse.

That's when the idea of his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.

On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.

For each Christmas, I followed the tradition, one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way.

You see we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.

Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

Author Unknown

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The promised pet tips.

Gift pets should NOT be introduced to their new home and family during the holiday chaos. If you already have that pet ready for display tomorrow morning - you may want to be sure you have a quiet place for the pet to hide and rest.

This is a list of plants you want to be careful of if you are going to have pets and small children running around. Mistletoe, Holly, Lilies, Philodendron, Dieffenbachia, Elephant Ear, Eucalyptus, Spider Plants, Amaryllis, Pyracantha, Oleander, Boxwood and Jerusalem Cherry.

Pet Costumes - be sure you get all rubber bands, straps, ribbons and bows off and away from your pet. A rubber band left on a paw will cause circulation problems that could be very deadly.

Candles - make very sure they are up high and very secure. Dog tails can easily knock over a candle and no place is safe from a leaping cat. Especially on Christmas day with all the activities and visitors, your pet may become agitated and excited and their behavior could easily upset a lighted candle.

Food - human food and drink is not fit for pets. The seasonings can easily upset animal digestive systems causing vomiting and diarrhea. Poultry bones, can and will splinter, and can do some major internal damage.

Chocolate is poison for most pets. I know I have told you the story of my dog that had no adverse reaction. Greasy gravy, seasoned green beans - think twice before giving them to your pets. If your dogs are like mine - they will eat anything. And cleaning the yard can become a worse choir than it already is. You may think you are doing them a favor giving them all those yummy table scrapes, but would you want someone to feed you something that caused diarrhea.

I know in my house the dogs get turkey - but carefully cleaned of all bones and make sure to remove the fat and skin.
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"Holiday Greeting (After the Lawyers are done...)."

"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all...and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choic

"(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)"

And to that I'll add: Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Peaceful Kwanza, and the very best wishes for a happy New Year.

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Track Santa Live as he travels around the world Christmas Eve

http://www.noradsanta.org - the official NORAD Santa site

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until next time - smile
Sharono