It's become my own little reporter's tradition. Every December I sit back and watch...I keep my eyes alert and my heart open to that one story that I know will capture the spirit of the season - that one piece in the Christmas issue of The Messenger of Juneau County that will make the readers cry.
It started the first year from an article about an interesting older man...a man with more than a lifetime of stories, and how his passion is restoring clocks....To me a story like that was the best way to ring in the new year.....
The next year it was about the small rural community of Orange and their annual Christmas party in a old two room school house. My children and I attended it that year...the year our Christmas was preparing for court dates....events that would eventually lead to their father going to prison for his actions against us.
This small community comes together every year and has a party in that school house of yesteryear. Children wear their Sunday's best ...they run from room to room as their parents sit and talk. Every year there is a show....a show where the children take turns signing holiday favorites....sometimes a beautiful note is hit....other times brothers and sisters shove one another as they make their way through Jingle Bells....
The one thing that really made me choke up that night was when a woman got up to sing. She was a woman in her late 30's ...perhaps even 40's...but caught inside her was that innocent child that never grew up....some call it being developmentally delayed...but that night all I saw was her innocence...Brenda is the name I remembering her having.
The magic came after she sung her song and she was presented with a special gift from all who gathered....evidently Brenda has sung at the Christmas show for as long as anybody there in that room could remember. When she was presented with that gift she turned to her mother in the audience.....she had tears in her eyes...her mom was smiling as a tear rolled down her cheek..
"Did you see that mom?"
Her joy and surprise was beaming off of her.....
And then...just a few moments later....Santa's bells could be heard.....
Children were alerted by the sound...
"Ho, Ho, Ho!"
Was what got the kids up on their feet and running to the man peeking around the corner....
Now imagine you being the kids and I.....walking into that two room school house with sad hearts...and then sitting back and watching this magic appear before our eyes....even my sons had tears in their eyes....
Yes, that was my 2007 Christmas article that made them cry........
Last year....2008....my article centered around my own experience as someone who relied on the giving nature of community to make my children's' Christmas one to remember..I spoke about being that single mom who happens also to be a community reporter...one that when I reported on things like Toys 4 Joy or fundraisers for the food pantry, how in doing so I was not only there because I was a reporter but also because how the children and I benefited from our giving community...
I spoke about how my children realized just how special living in such a community was...
It was a deeply personal glimpse into my life....one that is common on here with this blog...but up to that time had never been seen before...let alone by the watchful eyes of the paper's readers.
I remember that feeling I had as I clicked the "Send" button to email the article off to my editor...I remember thinking..."I can't believe I just wrote that."
Later on in the year I learned that that article touched people....one person even told me that they used it as their Christmas story to read to their children at bedtime on Christmas Eve. It was the best compliment I have ever gotten about anything I have ever written.
So................
Now we have this year......
It's time for that holiday article.....
The one that will stay with people throughout the season...
The one that will cause a tear or two to flow.....
And all I can see...all I can feel...is once again my own experience and the magic that is unfolding before my own eyes with Lend a Hand..
So many miracles have happened...
From the group starting only with that first meeting on October 1st of this year and how in such a short period of time we've grown into an organization that is actually already making an impact....helping people while they rebuild their lives.
Who would believe it all....
Just this week we prevented an older woman with health issues from being evicted on to the streets. The eviction process had made it through that court system and her landlord was running out of patience....she refused to leave. Yes, a proud woman she is. ...
It took some doing but after a long conversation with her...and then her landlord we were able to negotiate a deal that would keep her in the apartment and until programs kick in that would pay for her much needed assisted living home.
Then this week we provided shelter to a man who was being released from jail with no where to go....
And then there were the coats that were distributed to the moms with young children, and then a family with 6 kids who had just been recently evicted due to financial problems because of health issues....
It didn't stop there....
The bitter sweetness of those successes turned to pure joy when this week two extremely special things happened.
First is about one of those young mothers we're helping. Approved for housing she was having a hard time finding a landlord when she still didn't have a job....all of which she needs to bring her and her children together again and by early January.
It just so happened that her former employer was someone I knew....
Yesterday I woke up to find something on Facebook that shaped the day....that former employer made a comment about needing to find someone to hire or else she wouldn't be able to take the trip she had planned.....
A message here...a phone call there....and that young mom was offered not only a chance to get that job back...but also a chance to be mentored.
That job means she is now most likely able to get a lease...which means the housing program she was approved of would kick in...a roof meant that her and her children have the chance to be together again.....
The day didn't end there............
We had a chance to get some Christmas presents for the children in the families we are helping. Presents were leftover from a recent program where they are distributed to families in need - the leftovers had been dropped off at the local police station....arrangements were made and I was to get a list to them on what we needed.
Then...
Then came a call in the afternoon...
"Eva, I don't need a list because something has come up."
She went on to explain that out of the blue someone had called and wanted to know when they could drop off a $1200 donation in toys...
The police department didn't have room for them....
So they said Lend a Hand could take them....if we'd agree...
Needless to say a big and grateful "YES" came from my mouth....
So now not only will we have enough toys for Christmas presents for people like that family with 6 kids....those moms with young children and who are rebuilding their lives....that man who just released from jail can give his daughters a present....but we have enough now to reach out to more....
And, no, the day still hadn't ended...there was more to come....
Last night was our meeting...
I gave everyone updates on what has happened, and we listened to all the updates on what others were working on....
The need for a shelter was discussed over and over....
And then...
A woman who is known by many, but hasn't come to our meetings until last night, mentioned about a property she owned...with a house...an old house that needed some repairs...however she was willing to let us have to use as a shelter.
With only a couple of thousand dollars in our account, we know if this house is usable and in need of repairs, that we will need help with the work, and donations to complete the task. ...
But still....
I have a feeling....
There is more to come....
So............
As you can see, while I might spend every December looking for that one article to capture the spirit of the season...make those readers choke up.....I can't seem to see anything other than the whirlwind of miracles I am seeing on a personal level...
How does one begin to explain the domino effect that has occurred?
How do I explain how it's touched my life at a time when I needed it most?
How do I convey it all...this and then those Christmas Clues that have come the childrens' and my way....??
Who would believe this all.....?
So as I try to figure out just what that article will be, my eyes are alert and my heart is open....somehow I know there is more yet to come.............
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Happy Holidays!