The spirit of giving
2003-11-21 ~ 2:04 p.m.

Ahhh.....'tis the season.

I'm not poor, by any stretch. Yeah, D. and I have our financial problems - we own a house, we're going to be paying off our wedding for a while, and we have bills to pay. We don't have money to burn, but we have a house and some nice things in it. We don't worry about food or paying the vet bills for our cats.

That said, we also don't have a lot of money to be giving away. It's at this time of year that I tend to go crazy wanting to help out everyone. I want to buy tickets to the CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) home lottery, donate money or goods to the Humane Society, give some money to the local food bank, buy gifts for the Toy Mountain, etc, etc, etc. I'm not talking a lot of money, just $20 here and $50 there, but it does add up.

I feel good when I do these things. I feel like I'm contributing, in some small way, to brighten a person's (or an animal's) life. But then I think that this Christmas is going to be tighter than most, so I need to cut back on the donating I'm going to be doing. Then the guilt sets in - honestly, does what amounts to be about $100-150 total really matter in the grand scheme of things? For me, it means that I go without a couple of books I've been eyeballing, or that I'll have to wait an extra month or two for that Alias DVD set.

But to a small child, who may actually have a gift from Santa this year thanks to me, or to the family that will have a half decent meal for Christmas, or to the animal in the shelter who will have a nice warm blanket to lay on, it means everything.

Screw it. They need the money more than I do. If it means that I have to take an extra month or 2 to pay off my bills, then so be it. Because really, what is money, compared to the spirit of giving? Why does everyone get so wrapped up in themselves and their possessions, that they don't realize that there are people, and in this day and age no less, that don't have access to good food or shelter or medical care. It boggles the mind.

Ok, enough preachiness for today.

So, who else thought that the ending to the Bachelor sucked big fat donkey balls? This was the Bachelor that I was most excited about, and he seriously disappointed me. Oh well. That's what I get for getting caught up in the hype!

Mom is finally on MSN. Took her forever to get the computer up and running. Now we can talk while I'm at work. The time change really makes things screwy for us!

At least I can tell her now that I know for sure I'm not pregnant. Damn this PMS! When can I go back on the pill again???

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