If you have recently lost a loved one, you might want to delete this msg. For those with just the Christmas blues, tears might help get rid of them quickly. Hard to have any Christmas blues this year with the warm weather. I had maybe a short day of them, thinking of myself...... Coop me up in ice and snow and could add a few more. gf - ---------------------------- A Christmas Story It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so. It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas---oh,not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it-overspending...the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma-- -the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else. Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that wouldn't acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them." Mike loved kids-all kids-and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition---one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn't end there. You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us. May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true Christmas spirit this year and always. God bless---pass this along to your friends and loved ones. ---------------------------- Me: I had Doug stop by the bank and get an Angel card off the tree to shop for. We have 136 foster children right here in this small county. They put all the children's wishes on the tree and anyone can take a card and get them presents. The child is a number not a name then social services pick up the gifts and a worker is with the child when they open the gift. I got a 5 yr old girl wanting Rugrats stuff. Well, that kid is going to get loaded up on Rugrats stuff. Got a sleeping bag, an activity kit, a shirt and a toothbrush so far........ They said many of the children just want necessities like pjs, clothes. Now, here is a sad one. Get ready for a tear. Last year, someone got an 8 yr old boy who just wanted socks and gloves for his Christmas Wish. The person getting added a soccer ball. The social worker was with him when he opened it. He just started crying because he said he had never gotten a gift before. Period. I had more fun shopping Rugrats at Wally world last nite than I have for my own kids. Couldn't wipe the smile off my face all the way home. We have had a volunteer group for poor people here in the past and I would take new toys down or money but they aren't here anymore. Merry Christmas everyone. Really really nice people "around here." Gloria