Tired Girl

It's that time of year again! My Faaaaaaaaavorite time of year where we celebrate such wonderful holidays! Hanukkah, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween...

Well it's December 14th, and we only have Christmas left, and of course around this house it's total chaos! We have already celebrated Hanukkah, with the beautiful lights and wonderful prayers of thanks and all that! I had the Menorah all wrapped around my Christmas Runner on my Island in the kitchen. It looked very nice!

I love being able to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. That's a long story! Born to a Jewish mother, (the one with the bony knees) who didn't celebrate being Jewish because they really didn't know they were Jewish until it was dug up some years ago. So not until she was on her own, and chose to be Jewish did she go back to her Jewish roots. I was always raised Jewish, yet we did have a Hanukkah bush as we called it! I married a good ole Italian catholic boy, and thus my 3 kids are Catholic.

So in the Martello household we are just so busy with getting everything ready for Christmas. On Christmas Eve we hold the family event. It's with my Dad and Mom (Jacquie) and my Mama, and my family with the kids Boo and Rachele and Berto with his wife Coco and the baby Connor. We invite Rob's best friend Dale, who happens to be Coco's uncle, and his two kids and his GF Staci, so it's two Stacy's which is always fun! Lats year it was the feast of the 7 fishes. Traditional Italian meal. This year not sure what the menu is yet, but I better get my self moving!

Every year we invite friends to spend time and share space with our family. Last year we had Trish and Dr. Gregg Rubinstein. They are friends from High School, who live in Midtown Manhattan. Trish went to school with Rob from 8th grade through High School, and I really think she is an amazing person. She is also a Breast Cancer survivor. We kept in touch through the years, and recently I worked with her on her non-profit organization that helps the children of The Fresh and Green Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She began doing fundraisers and helping the children, and it has become a passion of hers and Gregg, and they take at least 3 trips to the school each year.

What amazing people! I love to see how we can give back, that is what life to me is all about. Einstein said it best when he said that "Only a life lived for others, is a life worthwhile." I like that quote a lot. To me it is past a step of selflessness. To me the person who practices this has developed a sense of self worth, a loving self, and is able to surpass that, and give automatically, without thoughts of themselves. They are in no way compromising who they are, it's the opposite, they are giving to create more giving and so on.

Yesterday while shopping at the market, I smile at strangers, get mostly smiles back because it's the holiday season and shop while humming along. While checking out with my Mom and Ray, I always ask our checker, who by the way has only 3 teeth on her bottom jaw, and her husband is on house arrest for goodness knows what, (He just got out of jail, I know this because of multiple conversations over the past year or so) how she is. Giving her my full and complete presence. I stop moving, stare her straight into the eyes and ask how she is doing. She always responds. She smiles and says "Thank you for asking." I can feel her pain. She isn't so happy this soul, but deep inside she is beautiful. She is really a joyous soul. I feel that in her. We chit chat for what seems like 10 minutes, probably only 3 min. and I always Bless her, and say thank you. Being present in our conversation, not being on the phone, because I know she needs an ear, a heart that listens. When we were finished checking out, we get these stickers for Pot's and Pans. Collect enough stickers and we get a free pan. So why not right? I have 2 FREE shiny new pots thanks to Albertsons, that I got for only spending 1800$ in the past few months. I think that is funny, but if I spent $1800 at Smiths, I wouldn't have got anything, so why not spend the money and get a free pot or pan!! I almost have 90 more stickers only 3 shy, and then I will have another cooking pan! That $2700 spent in the past months shopping for 3 FREE pots and pans. LOL I love it!

Anyway....

Well as I was collecting my stickers, the man in the line next to me reached over tapped me on the shoulder and said "Merry Christmas" and promptly handed me 10 stickers! For each 10$ you spend you get one sticker. I loved that! He could have thrown the stickers away but this guy, nope he wanted to give something away. He was around 6 feet tall, football player looking kind of guy, not one that you would expect to hand you stickers and say Merry Christmas, but he did, right there smack dab in the middle of the checkout line. It's all about sharing and giving. I felt blessed right there...

Like attracts Like! It's physics.

I was completely present in my conversation, giving full joy, as well as not judging and the energy spilled over to the football guy in the next checkout lane.

So I promptly promised to pay it forward, and wished him a Merry Christmas too!

My daughter and Mom just smiled!

I absolutely love the way that life works, even when it's not perfect, it's exactly as it should be!

Love you all!!

Stacy