Season of giving and receiving
This time of year we hear so many heartbreaking stories of people in need. We also hear heartwarming stories of so many people and organizations who go the extra mile to bring Christmas joy to others. It's one of the things I love most about our communities.
In 1985, a single mother of three had returned home to Idaho after leaving an abusive marriage, hoping to start a new life. Their 10-year-old car was paid for and only required liability insurance. The rent on their four-plex apartment was $325 a month and the mother worked swing shift as a desk clerk, earning $4.50 per hour. The two oldest children were teenagers and took responsibility for themselves and their younger sister while their mother was at work. There were few extras but the family was dressed in clean, warm clothes with a roof over their heads, an abundance of love and hope for better times to come.
They weren't hungry, they weren't homeless and they weren't alone. But their annual income for a family of four was poverty level and left little for anything extra. A few days before Christmas a basket of food and small gifts appeared on the doorstep. The mother at first was embarrassed that despite her best efforts someone out there knew their financial situation was dark. Pride brought resentment for the "handout" but the children thought it was sweet that someone was thinking of them. It was a thoughtful gesture at a bleak time.
The stranger who reached out to me and my daughters back then knew the meaning of Christmas, even as I'd lost sight of it. We never knew if the basket filled with food and love came from the Needy Family Fund, a church or a neighbor, but it didn't matter then - nor does it now. What's important is to reach others, not to judge the reasons for their situation. Don't give from guilt or pity, but from the place in your heart that holds compassion for your fellow man.
In the three decades since that uncertain time for my family, I've been blessed tenfold. Better times did indeed arrive and I've been able to pay it forward as have my now-grown daughters. To everything there is a season - be this our season to give or to receive, we, too, are blessed.
On Dec. 17, 2008, we received nearly 2 feet of new snow in a 24-hour period here in North Idaho. I'm dreaming of a white Christmas this year but that was about a foot and a half too much.
Happy birthday today to Leanne Thomas, Holly Kincaid and Cheyenne Peugh. The same tomorrow to Brenda Young, Randy Shaver, Tami Banker, Catherine Witham, Laura Harvey, Kris Wold, Mike McDowell (60!) and our grandson Jared Gonzalez, who's turning 18.
On Friday, Terry Cooper (70!), Carol Prosser, Ray Potter, Judy Cronin and Rick Monroe will party. Will Kennedy, Jim Sharp, Jayson Frank, Dean Swanson, Holly Miller, Lisa Turpin and Rick Blaski celebrate on Saturday.
Sunday revelers are Fred Smotherman (80!), Chris Costa, Jeremiah Hazard, Angela Wilson, Brad Miles, Lily Ann Carpenter, Debbie Tull, Jann Chatters and Muni Kumar.
Starting out the week on Monday, Kelly Hughes, Brad Penske, Michelle Neal and Rita Sims Snyder will blow out their birthday candles. On Dec. 23, Jake Pereira, Samantha Peugh, Monica Hillard and Wayne Reichenberg mark the date of their birth.
"When it seems that we have lost our way... we find ourselves again on Christmas Day. If you just believe."
Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She's been voted Best Local Writer by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal multiple times. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.