18/11/2023
JOY AND LOVE OVER CHRISTMAS HATE
The holidays are here and everyone is busy shopping and getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of making sure everything is perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Making sure the decorations are perfect, the perfect clothes, perfect foods, perfect gifts.
But it seems that the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas have been forgotten.
Thanksgiving is about sharing and helping others.
Christmas is not about the toys or getting the most expensive item to show all your friends.
For goodness sakes it's about family, joy, happiness, love and oh yeah- the birth of Christ.
A lot of people commit su***de this time of year because they feel they can't take the monetary stress of the Christmas gifts. Parents want to make their kids happy and give them things they didn't have when they were younger. That's fine, who doesn't? But at what expense?
When we were little I remember many Christmas mornings with 1 or 2 gifts and some years none. I never complained. Because I would wake up to my dad home from work making breakfast and the smell filling the house. Going outside and playing and enjoying the snow. Seeing my mom excited as we would open our gifts ever so carefully to save the wrapping paper for another time. Just having my family together and spending time together even for 1 day meant more than any gift ever did in my life.
The last several years we have given our time, our love and our hearts to help this community. But sadly in return it's not thank you or gratefulness anymore for getting something for the kids. It's become the most hateful, ungrateful people I have ever met in my life.
We have spent hundreds of hours making sure each child was taken care of. No it's not a perfect system- nothing is. We are all human beings. Mistakes happen. 99% of you never offered to help when you saw things fall behind. All you did was complain and say horrible things.
You treat us like we were obligated to help you. We were not. You took abuse of.our kindness and love for.this community.
Did you know that most of the people who donated to your children gave their last cent to make sure YOUR children had a nice Christmas.
The very people you were yelling at and complaining about not moving fast enough to get you your gifts have cancer, heart problems and more health problems than you can list on 1 page. Not 1 of them had a child getting gifts.
They were out there in the freezing cold weather hurting and putting their health at risk for your kids to have a Christmas.
Instead of offering help or saying thank you, you chose to say comments like this is bull$ # # #, or that's dollar store stuff. You know what these gifts were donated and you asked us to help you because your kids weren't going to have anything under the tree. So be grateful.
Christmas is about joy, happiness, peace, helping others.
You have literally drained the joy out of me at Christmas. I won't lie. I used to enjoy helping all of the kids. Did you even care to think that when something went wrong how upset I got? The fact that I was doing everything to make sure every kid had a Christmas present under the tree.
I look at each of your children as if they were my own child. I picture their face with happiness and joy of having something under the tree. If someone doesn't have a gift Travis and I would struggle and run ourselves ragged to try to make sure that the extra donated toys went to your child so they had something.
You have no idea how devastating it was to me every time I would hear no gifts. You saw me running around doing everything I could for everyone. For your kids. I don't blame the kids. I feel sorry for them. They don't know what the true feeling of the holiday is about. It's lost.
I'm sorry that things aren't perfect. I'm sorry I'm human and make mistakes. I'm sorry I can't make sure every child has exactly what they want for Christmas. But you know you have kids for 12 months you know Christmas is coming. So why in Goodness sake are you so hateful towards people who are killing themselves to make sure your kids have Christmas?
Yes I know some situations change at last minute. Those are not the people who upset me. It's the ones who think because we are a newspaper and radio station that their child deserves hundred dollar toy items. I wish it worked that way.
We take money out of our own pocket to make sure these kids have something. But you continue to hate and bash us because your children didn't get a new bicycle or a laptop.
Every 1 of you are told that no items over $50. Not so you can pick $50 toys, it's because of the price of toys is so high. Every 1 of you are told that we can not guarantee what your child will get. Every 1 of you are told that when you come to pick up the gifts to be prepared to be there as long as it takes.
I have parents last year who came and never got anything for their kids that were more thankful and appreciative than the parents who got boxes full.
You people should be ashamed of yourselves!
I'm sorry but instead of yelling at the people who are trying to help, why don't you explain to your kids what Christmas is really about and how though gifts are awesome, it's not always possible to get those items.
This year we have decided as a group that we will not be doing Christmas this year. We want to spend 1 Christmas happy, joyful, laughing, with our families.
It was not easy and breaks my heart to tell a parent no more than anyone could ever realize. But last year it almost killed me. This year not only has my health gotten worse, but the stress has made all.of our health worse.
You see our families don't care about gifts. To us it's about the fact that half of our loved ones are so unhealthy we may not have a tomorrow together. So we appreciate the moments.we have together. Every breath God gives us we want to spend happy and together.
I hope those of you who were so nasty and ungrateful last year never have to experience what you put us through. Never know the feeling of truly going without needs just for wants. I pray you get an eye opener and before it's to late learn to love family more than gifts.
To our Sponsors we are helping a local group this year and do still have several kids on their list that need sponsored.
I ask your forgiveness for my venting, but the ones we are helping are truly in need and do appreciate you.
I just felt the need to explain why mentally, physically and emotionally why personally I can't do the normal routine of helping so many kids.
We appreciate each of you who go out of your way this time of year to do something for complete strangers. The kids are grateful. We are grateful. You are amazing. To have a heart for others has sadly become a rare thing.
Please don't let my venting deter you from helping. There are many grateful people and kids.
If you are interested in helping any of our remaining kids, please let me know. I have about 36 kids left on my list ranging from 1 to 16.
Text or call 386-627-0195
*Some of these kids don't even have heat, blankets or jackets.
My views don't reflect everyone at The Putnam Way, but they represent how I feel.~Angie
