by Laurel E. Anderson for the Kanata Kourier Standard
December 30, 2005
Tis the season to be jolly, reflective and thankful whether you celebrate this holiday named Christmas, religiously or not. All the holiday and religion debates aside, no matter how you look at it, it’s a time of year to be thankful and to be helpful.
It’s also a time to realize that not everyone feels festive or overjoyed in mid December as most Christmas songs profess. For many, it’s a time of loneliness, of emptiness, of need and of want. Holiday time is not always a joyous time for many as memories of family and friends no longer with us surface at the holiday dinner table while others worry about a lack of funds to even provide a holiday celebration.
Personally, I have much to give thanks for this year. My family is healthy and my children are thriving and as the old mantra goes ‘Life is good.’ Even more reason to reach out to share our resources, whether it is our time or our funds, to help those less fortunate or weakened not only in December but also during the other eleven months of the year.
Things We Can Do
Maybe you’re asking yourself, “What can I do?” A lot is my answer. Just a small action on one’s part can make a world of a difference to an individual or an entire family at a time of year that can be challenging and stressful, and I guarantee you’ll feel good too! Drop a bag of groceries in the food cupboard box at your local grocery store, hold a door open for someone when they’re least expecting it, drop a toy at one of the many Toy Mountains around town, let someone in the traffic line on the busy street or volunteer to help serve a meal at a shelter. It all helps.
Reflections
This holiday season, my family will be helping to provide that magical power and support that only a family can provide to its own when in need. While my immediate family has experienced a great year, this is not the case with one member of my family. Earlier in the fall, my brother-in-law passed away quite suddenly and tragically in a shocking manner. He left behind a wife and an eight-year-old daughter, my niece. The feelings of complete despair and pain on my sister-in-law’s face will not be easily forgotten by my husband and I. Equally strong were the feelings that we had and still have, of powerlessness; of not being able to fix this tremendous problem. So we did what family does. We remained present in body and spirit for this lost wife and mother who wasn’t sure how to go on without her best friend.
Time doesn’t always heal old wounds and in this case, the wound is still open and fresh. Once again we will come together as a family to help, nurture and protect during this time of traditional family gatherings. And for my sister-in-law’s sake and departed brother-in-laws spirit, we will raise our glasses and celebrate his memory, as that is what Rick would want. Won’t you do the same with your family?