We all get
busy during the Holidays.
We shop,
prepare meals, send cards, ship presents, write letters, and in
general do all of the things that keeps us busy this time of year.
Let's not
get so busy though, that we forget about our friends, family, and
neighbors who have no one... or no place... to spend the holidays. Many
people, whether they may be single, widowed, elderly, or young, employed or unemployed, end
up spending each and every holiday... all alone.
This time of
year, I always think of one little lady who was a customer at a store
where I worked over 20 years ago. She was well up in years...a
widow... and she and her late husband had not had any children.
We were open
on Christmas Day, and she came in to make a purchase. When I said
"Merry Christmas" to her, she literally burst into tears. She told me how she always dreaded this time of year, since she had
no family, and she spent each holiday alone. She said that Christmas was
the hardest for her.
I never saw
her after the following spring of that year, so I don't know what
became of her.
Her
situation always comes to my mind at this time of year though,
especially since I am a never married single man, and have seen
several holidays "alone", myself.
The bottom
line is, I am not writing this about me. I am writing this to
encourage those of you who can, to make just a little extra effort to
keep people in mind, who literally have no one else.
Your little
act of kindness and thoughtfulness could mean the difference between
a Merry Christmas or just another day.
