I’m almost positive that someone will read this blog post and say to themselves, “What an ass clown! He’s just like all the celebrity philanthropists who are motivated by the attention they receive, and not by the spirit of good will.”  I can see where you might think that…but in this case…SUCK AN EGG.

My family and I (mostly my parents, myself and my brother & his wife) normally only do a gift exchange between the five of us. We set a budget and off we go.  However this year, and I don’t care who you are, money is tight. Santa’s bag of goodies will be a little less heavy and his trip around the globe will take a little less time to do. It’s the sad truth but it’s reality. In the spirit of giving, my family decided to do something for someone else. Not because we’re wealthy or overflowing with cash, but because we realize we’re well enough to take care of the children in the family so the adults can go without…not a huge issue. We decided to do Toys for Tots. This would not only be in the true spirit of Christmas, but it would teach an important lesson to my girls about giving to those less fortunate.

All while we were shopping, I kept saying to Dylen, “Imagine if you had no toys, no family, very little food…what’s one toy that would light up your face?” So she’d pick something out and we’d move on. Rhyen struggled with it a little more than Dylen I think…but by the end of the night, she and Dylen put all the toys we bought into the big box at Stefanina’s in St. Charles. And ya know what? I did feel good about doing it. I don’t care if anyone ever knew about it, but I think it’s important that we teach our children the value of caring for others. There are plenty of circumstances that I don’t agree with when it comes to parents living on welfare for selfish and lazy reasons, but the children should never have to suffer. Once you’re an adult, and you want to mess up your own life with irresponsibility and laziness, that’s your prerogative. But please don’t make a child suffer the repercussions because you’re too selfish. And if you’re in a position to help children like that…please do. It doesn’t have to be about Christmas, or Jesus, or Buddha or any other spiritual thing…it’s just the simple idea that as humans, we have a moral responsibility to help those who truly are in need.