’twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Slept happy little people, as poor as a mouse
For they didn’t go hungry
No real worries had they
They bowed their heads
and gave thanks as they prayed………
Some people think that because we have less money, it’s as if the Grinch has stolen it all…… I just don’t by it. Or should I say, I just don’t BUY it?
For many years I’ve watched the financial community around me in a whir! People often forgetting what’s important and most, hating work. I employ people in my Chiropractic office. It has saddened me during the past several years as I watched the overall integrity on the job, self fulfillment in a job-well-done and commitment to something outside of ourselves dwindle. I love to work and it’s always been that way, no matter if I was working on a construction crew, performing music or seeing patients in my office.
I personally think that, as painful as it is to be unsure of our future and finances, it will draw us closer together. We’ll NEED each other, again. Maybe neighbors will KNOW each other, again. I grew up on a cattle farm in Kansas. From an early age, listening at the heat registers to my parents, as they worried about loosing the farm in bad times, I learned to hate debt. I learned to respect it and use it wisely when I took out my first loan for musical equipment when I was 14 and paid it off quickly. By the time I was 18, the bank trusted me enough that they gave me an unsecured loan to record my first musical album. I paid it off quickly, too. Dad taught me the worth of money and when we ate out(which wasn’t every night) I could either have the quarter or order a soft drink. I learned early on, that water was just fine for me and the quarter was much happier in my pocket. I believe that if you take out a student loan, you LIVE like a STUDENT until it is paid off.
My family has agreed to make all of our gifts for each other, this year. My girls, adopted from China, are ages 12 and 7. We home school and they don’t have a problem with this, at all, and we’re all looking forward to Christmas. My mother, age 81, is living with us and that’s another joy that so few people have time for, these days. Soooooo happy to have her with us. We have what I call an orphan’s Christmas brunch, where about 15 people who have no family close by will join our family on Christmas morning. If you live near by and don’t have a place to be on Christmas morning, give me a call! There’s always an extra chair at the table for you. We should all count our blessings. Unless you are homeless and hungry, what your children will remember is the time you have spent with them and the lessons you’ve passed on……NOT how big your 401K is or how expensive their Christmas presents were. Hug more. Give less stuff and more of yourself.
Merry Christmas! It will prove to be one of the best, ever!
That sounds like a good idea to me. I have a bridge friend that lost the front part of his foot this year and is having a hard time adjusting to keeping his balance but is driving his own car etc. I do not even know how old he is. Probably in his late 80’s or early 90’s. He will be alone for Christmas. I may suggest to him that he drive down into Cedar Edge and meet Jeanne and John and than he could follow them out. I doubt that he will come But i feel it is the christian thing to do to invite him. Mom