Christmas Aftermath.

This post is dedicated to my mom's friend June, her sisters, friend, Christy, and June's mom, Mrs. Cevora. I don't need to tell anyone how hard times are. My family has been struggling and I think part of the reason it didn't feel like Christmas was because my parents didn't want to get our hopes up only to have us disappointed come Christmas because they couldn't get us anything. We all received gifts today from "Santa" and Santa came in the form of five women with huge hearts. It was overwhelming, to say the least, and it was like we were ten years old again. I haven't seen my mom smile so big in a long time. You made our Christmas. You're angels.I've had this newspaper article since 1995 and I look back on it every year. It's from a Dear Abby advice column and a reader wrote in and asked if she could run the piece entitled, "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus". CLICK TO ENLARGE!This particular piece fills me with hope and deep down I do believe. I have the mind of an adult and the heart of a child. I try to look at things with open eyes filled with wonder and it's often lost on the people around me. If there's one thing I can say about the holidays, it's that I hope deep down you also believe and I hope that you keep your heart open to all the possibilities of the world and that you never stop using your imagination. Let us not age ourselves to the point that we no longer remember what it was like to be a kid and to have fun and laugh and play and be silly. If there is one thing I did learn about this Christmas it's that the true meaning of Christmas isn't the gifts you receive or the things you do, but appreciating those you spend time with; especially my family. I know I'm a pain in the butt, but I do love you all. Merry Christmas everyone. I hope your holidays were lovely.