Let me start by saying Happy Yule, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Kwanzaa!!!
With numerous very important initiatives on going we do not get Christmas Eve off this year as we have in the past. I finally decided I would use a vacation day so I could enjoy Christmas Eve and the resulting four day weekend. Last year we saw a white Christmas here in the Pacific Northwest and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This year is looking to be cool and dry with no white in the forecast (yes I am disappointed).
December is a magical month that I look forward to every year. During this season I am filled with happiness for the present and for the wonderful memories of past celebrations. Two of my three nieces have their Birthdays in December which again is a reminder of how wonderful this month is (February is also great with my third niece having her Birthday then).
During the Holiday Season I tend to be thankful for many of the things I tend to take for granted during the rest of the year. I am especially thankful for the well being of my family members around the country, for my own health (I still have a pulse), for my employment, and for the roof over my head. There are other things I am thankful for though those are really the “biggies” that I feel compelled to mention. In the last sixty days or so there have been eight law enforcement officers shot here in Washington State and sadly five of those eight did not survive and one remains in critical condition. Having spent eight years as a firefighter/EMT I feel especially close to the emergency service community and incidents such as these fill me with sadness. Families have lost loved ones who spent their lives serving and protecting our communities. As I take stock in all I am thankful for I know that there are others who have much less and who have lost so very much. It is these people who have less and who have lost so much that I think of during this time of year and I hope that they will have the strength and ability to rise above that which has them down at the moment.
My hope is that humanity is filled with the true spirit of the Holidays and that they use this opportunity to practice kindness and charity for all those less fortunate. By less fortunate I do not only mean those less financially secure but also those who suffer both physically and emotionally.
For my parting words I would like to say…
Wishing you and yours a very happy Holiday Season
