Don't Get Me Started with Linda Sharp

Final Push Of The Sleigh Time

Time has flown like those eight tiny reindeer, and we are now in the homestretch of another Yes, Virginia season.  With some late additions and a clock ticking on shipping, I will be crunching the keyboard to get as much covered as possible.

As with many requests, that picture sums up so much of the need we address each year.  We may be pushing the sleigh, but Santa is pushing a grocery cart.

Food, toys, smiles.  I heard today from a parent we are helping.  Between the food she has been able to buy and the packages that have been arriving from elfing, she said, "I think I'm more excited for Christmas than them at this point!"  

Hearts lifted, tummies filled, hope restored.  That is what you do.

In this final week of elfing, if you can help fill the cart, please use the donation link on the left of the page.  And if you need our help, the clock is ticking.  Please step around embarrassment or unease, and reach out.  I'm here, we're here.  No judgement, just love.

 

What We Take For Granted

This time of year I write a lot about perspective.  Being allowed into so many people's worst days, weeks, unending realities is as eye opening as it is heart wrenching.  And it is a constant reminder of just how much I take for granted.  How much we all take for granted in our own lives.

Food is a big one.  We are not food insecure, so it is a privilege I enjoy without even realizing I enjoy it.  But so many people struggle to put food on the table, oftentimes choosing between gas and food, medication and food, heat and food.

Gas for the car.  I admit, when my car needs gas, I just drive up, insert my card, fill it up, and go on my way.  Privilege.  I do not calculate how many gallons I can afford, or stop it when it reaches a certain dollar amount.

Hot?  I turn on the A/C.  Cold?  I turn on the heat.  Bills come, I just pay them.

And transportation.  I have a car.  I need to go somewhere, I get in it and go.  My car even talks to me, telling me directions, reading me my text messages, transcribing my responses and sending the replies.  Privilege.

It's a word that gets kicked around a lot these days.  People do not like to be told they have it on any level, thinking it means they are an a-hole.  Not so.  Privilege simply means you are lucky enough to not be acutely aware of the struggles another may face because they simply have not been your struggles, your experience.  The a-holian factor only kicks in when you refuse to acknowledge another's experience.

In the 11 years of Yes, Virginia, through your donations, I have provided gift cards, food, paid bills, bought toys, clothes, necessities.  But until yesterday I had never considered the "how" people got to the places to use the gift cards.

A young mother we are helping this year had just received her gift card.  She was off work yesterday, her children cared for, and she wanted to go shopping for food, etc.  Having established a level of trust with her, complete with exchange of phone numbers, she texted apologetically, asking if there was any way I could assist her in getting to the Walmart.  She has no personal transportation and everyone else was working.

And it hit me.  All the gift cards in the world are pretty useless if one cannot reach the place where they may be used.

I immediately responded that YES, I could use my Uber app to arrange her pick up and drop off at the Walmart, assuring her I would be a text message away when she was ready to return home.  Technology can be a blessing and a bane, but yesterday?  Solid blessing.  And it was the best $9 each way I have spent.  She was again blown away that total strangers actually care.

That is a feeling that will be repeated this week as packages for her little ones begin to arrive.  As packages begin to arrive at other households we are touching this year.

Privilege.  It is not a dirty word.  It is bathed in the gift of perspective to those who are open to receiving the lesson.

Now, as it is bedtime - Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Linda

See What's Under The tree

Wanted to share as it is always fun to see how your donations are being used.  Come Christmas morning, a little princess will be waking up to her very own Frozen 2 Elsa costume with boots and a matching doll.

A little boy with a passion for dinosaurs and cars will be unwrapping his heart's desires:

A mom will be able to buy groceries and much needed care items as a gift card is winging its way to her.  A five month old baby will be stimulated and learning with new interactive toys.

And a new family has joined the sleigh this afternoon.  Same hopes, dreams, fears, and astonishment that people like YOU are in this world.  People they will never know who are generous, full hearted, and kind.

15 days to go till Christmas morning.  If you can help push the sleigh forward, please donate.  And if you know of anyone struggling, please send them this way.  There is still time to make wishes come true.

More Room In The Sleigh!

Just a quick update...

Presents, and gift cards, and smiles - OH MY!  Your generosity is being translated into memory making gifts, full bellies, and warm homes.  We have paid some more gas bills, insured food is available, warmed up tiny feet and hands, and have placed some fun toys under the trees for children near and far.

Because of your donations, I am thrilled to say we have more room in the sleigh.  So PLEASE, spread the word.  If you know someone who could use our help, or if you could a DGMS hand yourself, all it takes is an email to me at [email protected] or [email protected]

As always, the donation link is available 24/7 on the left side of the page.

Jingle, jingle,

Your Head Elf, Linda