Christmas Morning

A few photos of some very excited children and a very tired mama on Christmas morning (and one school music program photo too) for the grandparents.

Also, did anyone else get a Hatch Animals Surprise for Christmas? My girls were equally scared (so.much.screaming) and excited when it started to hatch, making it one of the funniest Christmas memories to date.

Now off to prepared a Christmas feast for my family!

The Season of Giving

The blog is back! In my own time I will explain why I took a two year hiatus and cleared out a few years of posts, but for now, I'd like to share with you why our family is celebrating Christmas this year by giving.

I was on the receiving end of giving at Christmas the year my parents divorced; and probably many more times after that. Now that I live in an affluent community, it feels even more important to teach my children the true magic of Christmas. I haven't done enough in the past, perhaps because I've been guilty of feeling ashamed of my own history at times. It's part of my story I don't share too often because I fear I would quickly become the outsider (one of those fictional scenarios in my head).

I realize the only reason to feel ashamed is if I would squander what I have worked so hard to achieve and allow people to believe life happened by some miracle. It's work; sometimes lonely and humiliating. Sometimes you feel you have little to offer the world, but you do. Use the resources you have.

Sometimes that may feel like almost nothing at all. In which case you can offer the world the best mother/friend/student/employee/version of yourself.

Sometimes you can only offer your time. This may be tutoring a child at Literacy Services, being a reading buddy at Milwaukee Academy of Science or help with homework after school at Milwaukee College Prep. Maybe it's as simple as watching your neighbor's children for a couple hours or being there for a friend who needs a listening ear.

Other times you can offer financial help to those in need. I love the idea of making 100 sandwiches alongside my girls. This year, we adopted a family through Journey House and will be delivering Christmas to their home.

I am hoping to begin this new tradition of annual holiday giving and continue it throughout the year on our birthdays. My children won't know the same hardships I faced, but they can learn the power of presence and being grateful for your blessings, however small or large they may be.

Merry Christmas.