WillThink4Wine

Tis the night before Christmas and all through the town,
every shelter is full - we are lost, but not found,
Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare,
we hope every minute that someone will care,

They’ll come to adopt us and give us the call,
“Come here, Max and Sparkie - come fetch your new ball!!
But now we sit here and think of the days…
we were treated so fondly - we had cute, baby ways,

Once we were little, then we grew and we grew
now we’re no longer young and we’re no longer new.
So out the back door we were thrown like the trash,
they reacted so quickly - why were they so rash?

We “jump on the children:, “don’t come when they call”,
we “bark when they leave us”, climb over the wall.
We should have been neutered, we should have been spayed,
now we suffer the consequence of the errors THEY made.

If only they’d trained us, if only we knew…
we’d have done what they asked us and worshiped them, too.
We were left in the backyard, or worse -let to roam-
now we’re tired and lonely and out of a home.

They dropped us off here and they kissed us good-bye…
“Maybe someone else will give you a try.”
So now here we are, all confused and alone…
in a shelter with others who long for a home.

The kind workers come through with a meal and a pat,
with so many to care for, they can’t stay to chat ,
They move to the next kennel, giving each of us cheer…
we know that they wonder how long we’ll be here.

We lay down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads…
of a home filled with love and our own cozy beds.
Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears -
our friends filled with emptiness, worry, and fear.

If you can’t adopt us and there’s no room at the Inn -
could you help with the bills and fill our food bin?
We count on your kindness each day of the year -
can you give more than hope to everyone here?

Please make a donation to pay for the heat…
and help get us something special to eat.
The shelter that cares for us wants us to live,
and more of us will, if more people will give.

–Author Unknown

I have been inspired by a young girl. I found her blog yesterday but I can not find it today! I cleared my cache! And I cleared my History. If anybody reading this knows which blog I’m talking about, please leave me a comment!

Arggg!!

OK, I’m better now. Anyway, she’s about 10 years old and has decided to countdown the 25 days to Christmas by doing things to help other people. Not necessarily big things, but simple things… small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness. Well, I missed days 1 & 2 but I am dedicated to the remaining 23 days. I am looking for my first opportunity.

This whole idea appeals to me on so many levels, not the least of which is that (IMHO) the true meaning of Christmas is not just blurred, it’s mostly obliterated. Christmas is no longer about Christ. It is all about the big money-making-commercialism ‘thing’ which now starts just before Halloween and ends with the January after-Christmas sales. And every year it seems the retailers continue to broaden the ’season’ of spending. People spend more of what they do not have to give more of what they do not need.

I don’t know how we (me and my seven siblings) managed to grow up without:

• a TV in our bedroom
• a DVD player and every DVD ever made
• a portable DVD player (?)
• an ipod
• a Wii
• an xbox
• a cell phone
• a computer
• every video game every made
• and $100 jeans

In fact, the collective wardrobe of me and my three sisters probably cost less than just one pair of jeans that the kids wear today. Why do their parents actually buy them?

My brothers and sisters all got:

• new pajamas on Christmas Eve
• a stocking to open
• some little trinkets from Santa
• the occassional new coat, shoes and school clothes when hand-me-downs no longer fit any of us

Christmas morning we went to church. Then we came home to a house full of multi-generations of our family for Christmas dinner. It was marvelous!

I am off now to finish fluffing my Christmas tree so that I can begin hanging my treasured ornaments that I have been collecting for most of my life. In fact, ornaments are my very favorite gift, both to give and to receive. I put in some of my favorite Christmas CDs and as I unwrap each special ornament, I OOOH and AHHH over each and every one of them. I pause to remember which special person in my life gave it to me and when. This process takes hours. I look forward to it every year. My three sisters have the same tradition in their homes. It’s truly one of my life’s Simple Pleasures.

WillThink4Wine

Industry: Business Services
Occupation: Self Employed
Location: The Deep South : GA : United States

About Me
The very best job I could ever imagine is one that would pay me to think… the currency would be wine, preferably big reds!

I am the oldest of eight (four of each) and the sisterdears are my very best friends. We all enjoy wine, music and family. We share many other common interests and have many more differences, but that is the Spice of Life.

I have been self-employed for a bit more than 20 years and have just started my second business. Yipes! It seemed easier and less scarier the first go-round.

I am divorced and I have two absolutely adorable gray cats. More than a fair trade, if you ask me

Just after my divorce, while I was mid-panic attick prior to a flight to visit my family up north, my very nice, very smart old country doctor asked me how I had coped with panic attacks in the past. I told him “I clean everything in sight and have a glass or two of red wine”. He laughed and said to me “Well, you are an international traveler and it’s Cocktail Hour somewhere”. I have tailored his remark to suit me. “It’s Wine-thirty somewhere”.

Interests
Wine
God
parents
sisters
family
friends
cats
music
books
sitting by the fire
Italian food
chicken
chocolate
cookies
my job

Favorite Movies
On Golden Pond
The American President
Moonstruck
Armageddon
Independence Day
Lord of the Rings
Murphy’s Romance

Favorite Music
Tenors
Piano
Cello
Violin
James Taylor
Josh Groban
Beatles
George Strait
way too much to list

Favorite Books
Lord of the Rings
The Hobbitt
Luanne Rice
John Grisham
tons more…