—Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in “Iron Lady”
So true. Time to let the little stupid things go and to work on my happiness!
I’m taking part in #26acts.
1. Sponsoring a family for Xmas
2. Donating to 3 different charities instead of Xmas presents
3. Bought In-N-Out burgers for the man who was behind me in the drive-thru
4. Gave my Customer Service Rep a gift card to Starbucks to thank him for working so hard
5. Gave homeless man a gift card for Safeway on Christmas Eve
6. Bought lunch for a homeless veteran
7. Paid the toll for the person behind me going over the Bay Bridge
8. Donated to the USC Helenes’ Havana Nights to feed battered women of Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center
In an effort to keep making this holiday season a true GIVING season, I’m definitely going to take part in this and I hope others do too…
For those who are looking to be of assistance in the aftermath of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the National and California 6th District PTA share the following project in need of your support:
Welcome Students to a Winter Wonderland
When school resumes for Sandy Hook, it will be in a new building. Parent-volunteers are working to ensure that the students are welcomed back by a Winter Wonderland with the entire school decorated with as many unique snowflakes as possible. It is your decision how to approach this project. You can choose to discuss the situation with your children or tell them they are making snowflakes for a project at another elementary school. We are encouraged to be as creative as possible, remembering that no two snowflakes are alike. Please make and send snowflakes by January 12, 2013 to the Connecticut PTSA (Parent Teacher and Student Association):
Connecticut PTSA
60 Connolly Parkway
Building 12, Suite 103
Hamden, CT 06514
—Bob Hope
My aim on this blog has been to explore my own happiness, as I try to make it a permanent state of being. I’ve picked quotes, pictures, songs, videos that all inspire me to be happy and decided to share them. However, today I experienced a kind of happiness that I hadn’t felt in a long time. The pure and simple happiness of doing something for someone else.
Every Christmas my parents really go all out. In fact I can’t remember a Christmas where there wasn’t a final gift (chosen by my father) that really knocked my socks off! It’s been earrings, an iPhone, a boom box when I was 8, a laptop, etc… I’ve truly been blessed. However, a few weeks ago my dad was saying at Thanksgiving that he felt like we should really give back this holiday season, and it resonated with me.
In college I was in a community service sorority that served the greater Los Angeles; some of my happiest memories were working with my friends to help others. Since I graduated college though, life has been in warp speed. The adjustment has been hard, and I’ve lost track of some of the fundamental parts of myself that make me happy, like a giving heart. This past week as I sat at my desk pondering my quota for work, answered emails from clients, and prospected for new potential opportunities, I randomly ran a Google search to find out how to sponsor a family for Christmas. Lo and behold I got in touch with the Family Support Services of the Bay Area and asked if I could still get involved at this late juncture. I wanted to continue my support of women, so I asked for a single mom.
A few days ago I got my assignment. A single mom and her two daughters (16 and 11) who live in a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland. I read their Christmas wish list, and I’ve never been so humbled in my life. Teenage girls asked for socks. Socks! They asked for sweaters, boots, and warm comforters. The mom didn’t ask for a single real wish (the girls had also included some wishes for lotion and gift cards); she limited herself to a blanket, pots & pans, and some warm apparel. Here I’ve been writing my Christmas list of makeup brushes and perfume, and two young girls were asking a stranger for a warm blanket.
My dad and I went shopping today and bought everything that we could find off that list. What started off as a whim and a blind hope to do good turned into an actuality this afternoon. I even threw in a few surprises, an iTunes gift card, gift cards to Best Buy, a gift card to Gap/Old Navy, and some pretty earrings for the mom. Needless today I’m going to bed feeling as if I made a dent in the economic disparity that haunts the holidays (at least in some small way).
For those of us who never worried about if our moms and dads were going to have food on the table for dinner, and we nonchalantly sent Santa itemized lists with detailed descriptions of the most “in” toys, perhaps it’s time to take a good look around us. Don’t just be thankful for what you have; give someone else something that they don’t. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
—Arthur Ashe
Sending out prayers to the victims and families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT. Children’s innocence should not be harmed and attacked. Everyone go hug your families and the kids in your lives.
Love don’t have to be a bunch of drama
A bunch of knock down, drag-outs cryin’ in the rain
It’s alright to keep it light now mama, don’t you think
We’re having such a good time together, it’s only just begun
My heart’s never smiled so hard, baby, loving you is fun-Corbin Easton
I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow
And each road leads you where you want to go
And if you’re faced with the choice and you have choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you-“My Wish” by Rascal Flatts
