A Christmas Story

I was outside this morning sipping my coffee as ZaQ shoveled the drive... scraped the windows of the car and brushed off the 3 inches of powdery fluff... and i thought wow, what a pain in the butt... Then in an instant felt so selfish... Can you imagine what it was like to not have cars? I bet THAT was a pain... bitter cold... either walking or riding a horse in foot after foot of piled up snow... below freezing temperatures... etc.

Once upon a time my Great Grandma Burton told me a Christmas story... she had lived through the Great Depression & two major wars... THEY had it tough... She told me the story of how they literally had next to nothing... One very special Christmas for the was the year they traded food with the neighbors... They pulled out potatoes that they had buried in their cellar... and the neighbors walked two miles in the snow to bring them carrots... together they were able to have a real meal... yep, of carrots & potatoes... and it was a feast... the two families were so happy to be together and eat... and that was it. No presents... no giant feast of Prime Rib with all the fixins, no pies, cookies, or candies... no toys, no new clothes, or fancy electronics... just potatoes and carrots. Sometimes I feel like we have become so far removed from how tough things can get, that we forget to appreciate the things that we have. We complain about the smallest of things... Can you imagine if our generation were the ones living through the Great Depression? It makes me wonder if the human race would even survive... So I ask you on this Christmas Eve... be thankful for what you have... and even more thankful for what your about to receive tonight/tomorrow... be thankful for your friends, family, and good food.... because we really do have it so great... Even in the worst of circumstances... its still so much better than what it was.