23 | December | 2011 | Real Mom Time (RMT)

Peace be with you this Holiday season.

I want to wish all of you RMT’ers a lovely, joyful, and blessed Christmas!

Let’s all try to do our best to remember that between the hustle of the holiday shopping, hours (and hours) of gift wrapping (and hiding of said gifts until the Big Day), and other related (commercial) chores that this is a time to enjoy with those near and far but most of all dearest in our lives (including ourselves – yes, RMT’ers, it’s OK to get some me-time this season, too!). Try to stop and smell the peppermint bark (and eat it, too!), give someone a hug who needs one desperately, drop a toy or canned good in a donation box (yes, they are still out there, just dropped some more off today!), and make time for someone whom might otherwise not have a holiday to celebrate this season. That one thing you do, whether it’s a large gesture or just a small sacrifice, can make a world of difference to someone in need or just plain-old down on their luck.

The other day I was coming up my front walk and saw one of our neighborhood homeless men standing in front of our home. He was trying very hard to get his hands on one of our roses, but no matter how far he reached or pulled at the vine, it was too high up and too far away for him to snap it off. Instead of hollering for him to get off my property (which maybe on another day I would have done, who knows!), I took 90 seconds out of my day to ask him which flower it was that he wanted. He didn’t speak, just pointed until I located the one he’d been eyeing (and grabbing at). I then told him I needed to go inside to get my scissor so I could cut it off the vine properly. He waited patiently for me to return, clip the flower, and hand it over to him. The smile on his face really has stuck with me, as has his very quiet but very deliberate and verbal, “Thank you, ma’am.” It really is the little things that can make all the difference to someone else – and those small gestures can turn our own outlook on life around, too… and not just at Christmastime either.