It was amazing to observe how life has instilled an intrinsic feeling of well-being if we are still enough. It seems we all go through this in life at times. This Christmas was a heavy, hearted one for us in some aspects. Everything appealed to the senses and happiness was the theme. The smells, the Christmas music, the traditional foods, going to Grandma's, the feel of their homemade stockings, etc. They were glowing when they recalled their sensations. This year I took the time and really questioned people about their family traditions and the Christmas traditions they remembered as a child. She had an amazing spread, the gifts were so generous and the Christmas spirit was flowing.
If the family member was not present they thanked them in the air ) We then drove to my Mom's house for a lighthearted Christmas full of laughter and warm smiles. What an amazing community.Ĭhristmas morning came and how fulfilling it is to see my children open their presents with excitement and turn immediately to us to show their appreciation with a side comment of why they like the gift. After everyone entered and exited the spiral we lit up glowing lanterns into the dark sky. A beautiful winter spiral and the large community circled around telling stories and singing songs.
The second party was outside amongst the dark sky with a bonfire. Respect and reverence overcame them when they entered the beautiful dark room with the evergreen spiral lit up by candles. One was with a Waldorf class centered around the children. They happen to be musically trained so there was three part harmony enchanting my eardrums and I heard several traditional Christmas songs I have never heard before sung in different languages. I simply brought a pot of warm food and a cheerful smile. This community is so eclectic that I didn't have to put these celebrations together myself like I have in the past.
We also celebrated Christmas around the world (St. Both kids were in Christmas plays/programs, went to friends' xmas parties, and both "schools" had large ornament parties. The advent calendar was full of the normal traditions: gingerbread houses, going to see the lights, polar express party, making ornaments, making cookies, caroling, ice skating, goodwill deeds and reading Christmas books by the lighted tree, etc. Izzy remarked how fast Christmas came this year. They were so eager to open the advent box each morning. The little girl in me that never had Christmas just made it impossible to hold to that commitment ) Both children barely talked of the gifts that were coming Christmas Day. My goal was to give four gifts each: something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. I was curious of what the end result would be. This year I focused our attention on the advent calendar and spoke very little of the gifts. The children knew the list and were eager for when their favorite advent was approaching. It felt like the annual activities I have consistently carried out and stumbled through the last 7 years, have now become tradition. Almost as if I am not sure if I got this right. So, in some ways I feel really odd and backwards when celebrating Christmas. Again, not all of that was throw-away-thongs, but it was all stuff that they just couldn't rehome.As a kid, we never celebrated Christmas. Want it in weight? Goodwill Northern New England threw out more than 13 million pound of bad donations last year. Now I'm not saying that the $1.2 million is all in trashed panties, but I am saying that it has a lot to do with people not paying attention to the acceptable items list at Goodwill. As a matter of fact, in the last 12 months alone, Goodwill Northern New England has spent a whopping $1.2 million on trash pickup alone.
That costs Goodwill time for the employee that's sorting through the items and also adds to their trash pile (which then has to be picked up). When you donate something to Goodwill that they can't use they inevitably have to throw it away. And, while they're super-happy people are so willing to give, they want people to also be aware of what they shouldn't be donating. Example? Your old haggard undies.Īccording to The Kennebec Journal, Goodwill Northern New England is used to people donating things that they won't be able to use and will need to be thrown away. However, we can make things a lot easier on the people that work at these places by not inadvertently sending in things they not only don't want, but don't want to deal with. Sure, giving back to places like the Salvation Army, Goodwill and other stores that seek to help people in need can be a very rewarding feeling.