warm hearts

According to many of the holiday songs, there is but one temperature for this season. Think about those familiar tunes -- Let It Snow, Baby It’s Cold Outside, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland; the songs don’t take into account that not everyone experiences this season the same way in more ways that one.

Having always lived on the East Coast, I am quite accustomed to four distinct seasons. I’m not sure what it would be like to not expect the climate or my clothes to change along with the calendar. When I was younger, I wished that kids who had never seen, touched or tasted snow would have that experience. Over the years, the weather all over the world has been most unpredictable so folks who never knew what a white Christmas was have been able to find out just what it’s like. Also when I was younger, I wasn’t aware that other children were not unwrapping gifts in the warmth of their living room each December.

There is a feeling that comes with this time of the year that many share. Our hearts are light, filled with joy and hopefully the spirit of giving if we are able. I am moved by the news stories about people who are paying off the lay-away bills of families they don’t know and thankful that I am able to lend a hand. Today as the thermometer in DC rises to 60, it will still feel like Christmastime to me because it doesn’t matter what the weather is like, where we reside, or what our beliefs may be…it’s just the holiday season. Reach out if you can and…

keep your peepers open!®