I'm Grateful for People Who Send Christmas Cards

 

One of my ongoing resolutions has been to practice gratitude, so I thought it might be fun to have a weekly blog post about something I'm grateful for. (And hope it lasts for more than a week!)

So... today I am grateful for people who still send traditional Christmas cards through the good old fashioned mail. 

I've become very lazy, myself, about using the mail and use the convenience of Facebook, email, Smileboxes, JibJabs etc. to send my news and photos.  There's so many cool options to animate and include photos and music, all for free! (BTW, my 2013 recap can be found here!)

But I give a lot of credit to those friends and relatives who still take the time, trouble, and expense to buy, print, label, stamp, write, and mail, the traditional way. 

I've started a new tradition where I now send New Years cards back to those people I get the Christmas Cards from.  It's handy, because I can get their addresses from the return addresses of their cards and I can comment on their recent photos or news. 

So, for all you people who still send traditional cards: Yay! I am grateful for you!! Thank you!

2013 Slideshow

It's been a good year! I kept my resolution to run at least one race in costume each month (I actually did 4 extra!).  So... as I review my 2013 photos,it turns out I have an abundance of running pictures!  I also traveled quite a bit, both for work and for pleasure.  Matt got married over the summer, so we welcomed beautiful Stella Min to our family. I'm lucky to have Meg and Chris and my two grandchildren, Diego and Reneya, living close by, which gives me a lot of babysitting opportunities! Matt started a PhD Psychology program at Florida State in August and Scotty is in his second year at Purdue and also interning at GE. I'm still single, but have lots of fun with friends and dates, so I'm never lonely. I feel very blessed!

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Help me Help GiveForward Help Christian Hannah for #GivingTuesday

One of my resolutions for 2013 was that I was going to help spread the word of those who were doing good in the world helping others.  A "Help Me Help X Help Y" kind of thing.  The power of social media is so strong and I love to see it used for good by spreading the word of kind and generous things happening in the world.

#GivingTuesday is a movement which is all about giving back. GiveForward is a fundraising site dedicated to helping raise money for medical expenses for those in need.

Today, #GivingTuesday, is the perfect time to celebrate the tradition of giving back! And how great that it follows Thanksgiving, when we celebrate all we have been given.

For #GivingTuesday, GiveForward is working towards helping Christian Hannah get a wheelchair van.

This is Christian Hannah, the boy we’re helping:

• Link to his fundraising page
• He’s 14 now, born with cerebral palsy, lives in a wheelchair
• Raising money for a wheelchair van to help him do more things

I know that all year we are asked to donate to various causes and it's impossible to help everyone. But you can help, both by donating and by spreading the word by using social media and the #GivingTuesday hashtag.  If you're a blogger, then write your own blog post or simply share the links on Facebook, Twitter or wherever you hang out in cyberspace. 

I am SO grateful for my health and the health of my kids and now little grandbabies.  I can't imagine the financial and emotional hardships a family must go through when a child has cerebral palsy. And it's such an easy thing for the rest of us to send a little bit of money and support to someone else who needs help.  

I hope you'll join me in making a donation, spreading the word, and doing a small part in making this world a better place for all of us.