Gifts we can all give this Christmas Season

Gifts within the Windsor Community
Can you believe the Holiday season is upon us? Four short weeks to Christmas, how can this be? I began to wonder how everyone will be preparing for the Christmas Season. For me it will be a bit empty, my dad was Mr. Christmas. He would spend hours looking for the perfect gift for my mom. It was always so much fun to watch him give her that special present. His eyes always twinkled but they did even more so on Christmas Eve. This year will be the first year without him.
My mind also began to think of all of the households that are struggling with various losses this year. Loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, loss of relationships, loss of income, the list went on and one in my mind. So how can we as a community get through the Holiday season together? How can we brighten each other’s world, when at times it feels a bit heavy and empty? What gifts could we as a community give each other?
The answer came to me as I was watching my daughter’s basketball game. There we were in the gymnasium at Mountain View and I looked up on the walls. There surrounding me were the gifts we could give each other. Over the next four weeks what if we all tried to give one another the words that were hanging up on the walls?
Respect: Be tolerant of differences. Use good manners, not bad language. Be considerate of the feelings of others. Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone. Deal peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements. “Be nice to others.” Just think what our community would be like if for one entire week we would do all of those behaviors that is listed above? Good manners…..no bad language, try that one for one day and I think life would feel lighter!
Once you have mastered respect, try the next gift: Trustworthiness-Be honest, don’t deceive, cheat, or steal. Be reliable, do what you say you will do. Have the courage to do the right thing. Build a good reputation. Be loyal, stand by your family, friends and county. I did a bit of inner reflection on that one…Be reliable, do what you say will do….I admitted to myself I fall short all the time on that specific behavior. My daughter makes me “pinky swear” since way too many times I have promised I would be home at a certain time, and then I ended up doing “one more thing” at work, and soon I was 45 minutes late for dinner. So if you feel like you have mastered “respectful” behavior, try being trustworthy this week. It would be a great gift to give your family, loved ones and the community. I find it harder than I thought.
Lastly, after you have given the gifts of respect and trustworthiness, try these behaviors out: Caring-Be kind, be compassionate and show you care. Express your gratitude, forgive others. Help people in need.
As a community, let’s give it a try, three gifts we can give one another: Respect, trustworthiness and caring. I would love to hear your examples, or any insights you gain by trying one or all of these behaviors. As I looked around the gymnasium, I thought how hard it must be to be teachers at Mountview. I’m guessing I’m not the only parent that may not be role modeling those behaviors 24/7. If we all could role model those behaviors for the next four weeks, I’m guessing our schools may have a lovely holiday season. Give it a try, and enjoy the weeks ahead, Margo

Paying it forward for Thanksgiving,

So here is my experience of “Paying it forward”…., My experience was unique. I decided first thing Saturday morning to “Pay it forward” in the grocery store that I have been shopping at for the past 4 years. When I purchased my groceries, I bought a $25.00 gift card, and walked over to the store manager. Now maybe it was my “look” since I was in my Saturday clothes, which consist of “well worn Windsor hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants, and maybe my hairdo was looking too much like “bedhead”…however, the reaction to giving a gift was priceless. As I greeted the store manager, I explained that I wanted to start “paying it forward in Windsor” what this meant was that I would love for him to give the $25.00 gift card to one of his employees. He looked at me, and shook his head, “I don’t know if I can do that?” This is the point I thought maybe he thinks I was the one that needed the cash given my appearance! However, I didn’t give up, ….Since I too have been in management for 2 decades, I quickly thought, well maybe he did not know what employee to choose. Therefore, I offered “Just put all of your employee names in a hat, and draw one out, I further explained that I had shopped here for over 4 years, and loved the service, and the friendliness of the staff, and really wanted to thank them. After a few minutes, he took the card. I walked away, thinking, maybe no one has ever “Thanked him” for the work, he does.
Therefore, this week, I would encourage all of us to express our gratitude to someone in our community. After reflecting on my gift card experience, I wonder, if we are not accustomed to being “thanked”… I realized that I too go through the week, month, and year not spending enough time expressing my gratitude.