My Christmas is going to be a little different this year. My youngest son and brand new daughter-in-law will be in the Domincan Republic from the 19th to the 2nd of January, honeymooning and visiting Claudia’s relatives who didn’t make it to the wedding. And my older son and his family are back in Malta. I was feeling very sorry for myself for a while until I realized that it gives me the opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted to do. My husband was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and never celebrated the holiday until we were married 11 years ago; now he’s making up for lost time and lighting every inch of our yard!! but we thought that instead of buying things for each other that we really don’t need we would take some money – and some time – and spend it in one of the many shelters in Hernando.
Christmas lost a lot of meaning through the years and maybe this is a chance to gain some of it back. We have all given up a lot this year but… we have jobs and a great company that offers us a lot of support. There are a lot of people out there who will have nothing this year without some help and even the charities are suffering. If each of us reading these blogs were able to give even $5.00 to a shelter or charity we might be able to make a difference. Just a thought.

Vicki Sidlauskas