My wife and I always get an early jump on Valentines Day because we where married on February 10 over 35 years ago and it has been the best 35 years in my life. at least I can say I have been married more years than not. Marriage is a time for change for both the man and woman, not just one or the other. The most important thing you learn is the word no. There are so many ways it can be said to what "no" really means.

But for now I will just be happy that there is still someone to tell me "NO"

Dee

I will be out of touch for a little while I have had quite a lot of things going on. For those who don't know me I started a project about a year ago ( Used Medical Aids Foundation ) I just got several truck loads of wheelchairs walkers scooters from a county hospital and have 2 truck loads from another hospital to get. I go threw the items and fix them up as close to new as I can then I post them in other groups that I belong to. There is no money involved no donation required only the need. I have several letters from people in my area that need something so I am trying to get as many ready as i can. I am getting help from the Boy Scouts in my area because I'm still not up to par yet but I can turn a wrench. so if I don't respond to the wonderful stories, poems, jokes, or pictures its because this santa is really busy right now.

Dennis

The Present

By Dee 

Christmas is a wonderful time of year walking along the store fronts lingering at the bakery shop with the fresh smell of goodies. Watching people go in and out of shops, with arm loads of packages. Hearing a bell ring at in front of a toy shop is reminding us, that there are others that need help.

 As you drive home you stop at a park where the kids are going as fast as they can down the hill on their sleds. There are no barriers between kids, no black, white, red, or yellow they just want to have fun. A little girl falls down and a woman picks her up and brushes the snow off and then gives her a hug.

Then Rose wakes up and realized it was a dream, remembers this last summer her husband and three kids, 2 girls and 1 boy won’t be sharing Christmas together anymore. Coming down out of the canyon her husband lost control of the car and went over the side. All Rose has now are pictures of times past that they shared together.

Rose goes out to get her mail the wind is bitterly cold and it looks like snow will soon come. As she gets to her front door a neighbor waves to her and says Marry Christmas. She waves back but says nothing. Looking at the mail that came that day reminds her of her lost family once again. She looks up into the mirror of the bathroom and sees a tear running down her cheek.

Why am I doing this still, it’s been 5 months and I need to get on with my life she says to herself. But a small voice says to her, “Mommy I love you”.

Her heart is aching and she can here herself saying I love you to. Then the tears start to flow and the tissue box is empty, so she uses the paper on the roll to dry her eyes.

Just then the phone rings and the man on the phone say’s “I am trying to raise money for those children that won’t have a Christmas”. Rose cuts him off by hanging up the phone.

As she goes to the bedroom and lies down on the bed to cry her eyes out like she has done so many in the last 5 months. She is saying to herself I’m not strong, I can’t take it anymore I don’t want to live. Again she hears another voice say “watch what I can do mommy”.

By the December 23^rd Rose is loosing her will to live and is trying to think of the best way to end the pain and suffering. But nighttime has come and she takes a pill to help her sleep.

In the morning she goes to the drugstore to pick up her medicine for depression and for sleeping. As she drives home she sees some girls in front of a store selling cookies. Again she hears a voice that says “Mmmmmm mommy they taste so good can I have another one”.

At home she says to her self NO! NO MORE! And then she sees the medicine that she just bought and says that’s how I will do it. When I go to bed tonight I will take all my meds and never wake up.

That night was the 24^th of December the worse night of the year to her remembering how the kids would try and sneak in to the living room to see what Santa had brought. Her eyes are red and her mind is filled with the missing images of Christmas in her home. She sits down to watch some TV but is started feeling sleepy so she lay down on the couch and closed her eyes.

The headline in the morning announces, “ANOTHER TRAGATY HAS HIT A HOME IN LESS THAN 6 MONTHS”.

Rose could hear something then she heard it again but she had a hard time understanding what it was she heard. It came again but this time she heard mommy?

Rose opened her eyes and there in front of her was a little girl and beside her was another little girl with a little boy beside her. And standing behind them was a man holding out his hand. As she touches it, all of her thoughts comes to her. It’s her family she hugs them and kisses them. And starts to cry and says, how can this be. It’s another dream you are not real I have to wake up.

Her one little girl says, no mommy it’s not a dream we are here with you.

Headlines on the local news, “ANOTHER TRAGATY HAS HIT A HOME IN LESS THAN 6 MONTHS”. A local woman dies in her sleep it seems that she had a faulty water heater and the pilot light went out but the gas didn’t stop.

Rose looked at her husband and said you mean I didn’t take all those pills like I was planning?

Her husband said no I was watching over you this whole time and it hurt me so to see you in such pain. I went to plead to help you and was told that I didn’t need to you where coming tonight to be with us forever.

Just then she heard singing it was the most beautiful song she had ever heard. And then there was a bright light, brighter than any she had ever seen before.

CHRISTMAS

Now that Thanksgiving and Black Friday are over with and you have plenty of leftovers what else could you need.

Christmas is just a few weeks away and if you where smart you would have all your Christmas shopping all done.

My self I have a hard time sleeping because so many people have fallen on hard times. There is a family down the street that is just at the end of their rope and its 300 feet to the bottom.

Every year my wife and I look for just a family. To no fault of their own he has lost his job the first of the month and his wife is expecting their 4^th child. He is working part time just to put food on the table. His wife does a lot of craft things and has helped in cub scouts and as a room mother for her oldest child who is in 2^nd grade. But this year she has not been able to do much because the doctor told her that she should have waited another year to have another child. She has to be on bed rest till the middle of Feb.

My wife and I choose to do sub for Santa to a family just like this and we have gotten a few things for the family. I received a e-mail from someone that I helped this summer with a wheelchair. In the e-mail it said we know that you will not take money for your foundation. And we also know that your wife has been working to pay bills and help taking care of her mother. Tomorrow a truck will come to with presents for a family that you feel needs some help with Christmas. Along with an envelope with a check for $1,000.00 the payee will be blank. Plus there will be a special card that will have $200.00 on it for gas.

I couldn’t believe it I know this family could use it and more but the biggest thing was that there was a job for either the father or mother working as a janitor at a place that is really good to the employs.

They had also heard that I had been in an accident and wasn’t able to do my part this year.

I have to tell you that I have put on a Santa suit almost 30 years and I have helped deliver sub for Santa to families from other people. But this year I feel that for one night I really am Santa and its like magic far stronger than even superman. They have three little girls and they are the cutest always with a smile. And I know that when the time comes there will be the wonderment in their eyes anticipating what’s in the boxes. I just wish I could be there when they open their presents but I’m afraid that I may have some plumbing problems that I couldn’t control.

I remember one Christmas when my girls where little and they had cut backs at my job several had been laid off and the rest that still had a job our hours went from 40 to 32. I had told my wife that it was going to take everything I got on my check just to pay the bills. But then someone told me about a place where I could do some piece work making rubber valves for pipe lines. I worked real hard for 5 weeks in my spare time and was able to get enough to have a little Christmas. But the week before Christmas one of our girls got real sick and was put in the hospital for a couple of days.

Back then we had to pay a co-pay which took everything we had for Christmas. It was the 23 of Dec. and all of a sudden we heard some noise outside and there where friends and neighbors with boxes of things.

I have always thought of myself as someone who doesn’t need help. I didn’t want to feel like a charity case but I always knew how I felt when I was able to help someone in trouble. My wife told me its time you let someone else feel good by helping you.

So if you think you see something in the night sky on the 24^th don’t be surprised if you see me in a sleigh.

Ho, HO, HOO Marry Christmas

Dee

Sun Rise Sun Sets

I use to thing when the sun came up in the morning that some day it will be gone and there will be no light. When I would see it go down in the evening I would think could we live in the dark.

Science has gone so fast in the last 2 decades that most people haven’t had time to catch up to it. More and more babies are being born and we are trying to mold them into something better than what we did.

It’s sad to see young people start out in school with the fear that another child will snap. Who knows what will happen? I see more and more people home schooling their kids because of that fear.

Drugs play a big part! It is so easy to get and is sold at the market, school grounds, and yes even in the churches.

Someone says something wrong and all of a sudden a war breaks out. With the new weapons that are coming out so you can kill more people. They range from grandfather to a newborn girl. It can’t be stopped because man has not found a way to live together. What’s even worse its all done in the name of god or a god.

Now I don’t worry if the sun will burn out because I believe that we will blow it up along with ourselves.

I just pray that I am not going to be around when it happens!

Dee

I was raised by my Grandparents.  My grandpa was a cook on the Northern Pacific Railroad.  When the two of them were in the kitchen there was a lot of arguing about how thing should be done.  They also use to cook for a logging camp so they could seem to decrease the amount to Three peopl.  There would always be enough for a whole army.  But I remember the smells, of fresh food, not boxed or premixed.  This was real cooking.  sometimes we would have guests over and sometimes it would be just us three.  I also remembered the arguing but most of all I remember the love that went into each morsal.  MMMMMMM I still can taste it all

Happy Thanksgiving

Shano