Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Merry Christmas

 A friend re-posted one of those facebook memories, something she'd forgotten. The gist of it is that her family was home for Christmas, and she was happy and just filled with Christmas joy. When her phone rang, she picked it up and greeted the caller with a 'Merry Christmas!' and was met with silence. Finally a voice said, "I think that I have the wrong number." 

She laughed and wished him a Merry Christmas anyway, and went on about her business. 

Her phone rang again, and she repeated her greeting. It was the same man. She laughed and said, "You again???" and he confessed that he was having a tough year getting into the holiday spirit and that her greeting was so joyous that he had felt more cheerful just for hearing it. He just wanted to tell her that. 

She took a moment to talk with him, and discovered that he'd lost both his parents in the same year, and when his sister became quite ill, he'd taken on a lot of responsibility in caring for her. He was overwhelmed and not feeling very Christmas-y. 

Pam listened and offered up small encouraging words. When they hung up, she told him that he was welcome to call her on those difficult days when he just needed to hear a cheerful voice. 

Her point was that the small things matter. 

Today was also the last day of school before Christmas break. At school,  kids collect tokens for good citizenship and for helping others. William is always flush with these tokens since he is a good kid who loves to be helpful and is really unfailingly kind. The tokens can be used to 'buy' treats. He saw two kids that did not have treats, and so he redeemed some of his vast token wealth to get treats for them too. 

The small things matter. 

It's been a grueling few weeks at work. Tomorrow is an eight hour day, and then I'm off for three whole days. I'm so glad for that. I've been struggling to be merry myself, and these little stories really lifted my own spirits.

May your holidays be filled with all sorts of small joys, the kind of small things that really truly matter. 

Happy everything, everybody!

14 comments:

  1. What a sweet story and so helpful to that caller. Maybe the Spirit of Christmas will grab your Scrooge Boss this year. So nice to be looking forward to retiring! Merry Christmas! Linda in Kansas

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  2. Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas Debby - and here’s to a Happy Healthy Hoorah for not having to go to work New Year!
    Take care
    Cathy

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  3. What nice stories. We have an org here that connects random people to phone connect with older and lonely people. I was almost up for it until I heard that it might be an hour's chat. I was thinking 20 minutes max.

    Enjoy your time off and a very Merry Christmas.

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  4. Good theme that rings true. Merry merry to you.

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  5. Those ARE inspiring stories. Thanks for the holiday cheer!

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  6. Small things matter in a big way. For people like the phone call guy , they have not had time to seek some help' Good on you for spending time on the second call. Good for William, to treat kids who have to do without. Enjoy your Christmas.

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  7. Merry Christmas Debby to you and to your family.

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  8. Wishing you a very merry christmas and a good rest. This was a lovely story which reminds us not everyone is in a postition to be merry. You have a nice friend. x

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  9. You have a kind friend and a kind grandson. 💜

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  10. What lovely stories. So important at this time of year.
    Merry Christmas.

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  11. Merry Christmas, Debby! Thanks for the holiday cheer!

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  12. A very Merry Christmas to you and your family.

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  13. It is so true that the little things are really what count daily. Do hope your Christmas has been special.

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