Dear Reader:

Christmases around these parts keep getting crazier and crazier with the unpredictable climate that surrounds us today. We had an early freeze, cold temps in the forties before Thanksgiving (rare) and then yesterday we reached eighty….eighty!

I had all my windows up, turned the heat off, and the ceiling fans on…I was still hot. My recliner electric blanket got put back in the closet. But one smart thing I did for myself (and others) was go get my flu shot (Publix-free ten dollar coupon! ) ahead of my routine check-up and regularly scheduled flu shot at my primary doctor.

After winning the first grade Reindeer Run and being so happy Friday at school…Rutledge came down with the flu that same night (along with 50% of the first graders at his school). His temperature over 103 with chills…a sick little puppy!

His poor teacher has had to move the sole 8 students left to an empty room while they disinfect her classroom. She is begging parents not to send their children back too soon. Accommodations are slim to none.

It is scary how fast this influenza hits…the race with the vast majority of first graders participating was filled with happy children and cheering families Friday….and by that night…half were sick. *”The good, bad and the ugly.”

Unpredictable is the only word for the weather these days…after 80 yesterday the high today will be only in the mid-fifties with lows in the 30’s by tonight… followed, then, by rain. Our poor bodies are having a tough time adapting to the elevator weather this late in December…another reason I went on and got my shot….to help boost my immune system.

I came across some interesting stats on kindness yesterday…it went like this…

The average American performs a minimum of five acts of kindness a month...the top 10 acts are:

TOP 10 MOST COMMON GOOD DEEDS…

1. Helped someone with directions — 66%
2. Held the door open for a stranger — 65%
3. Let someone with fewer items go in front of me in line at a store — 60%
4. Helped someone cross the street — 60%
5. Completed a chore/errand for a family member or friend — 56%
6. Gave a dollar or so to charity when checking out while shopping — 56%
7. Donated clothes to a thrift store — 55%
8. Helped someone carry their groceries home — 55%
9. Returned a lost item that I found — 55%
10. Paid for a stranger’s meal — 53%

People then recalled the nicest thing someone had done for them:

1. A stranger gave me a change of clothes and some tea and let me use their shower after being caught int a severe storm in Florida

2. I had nowhere to go and no money and a stranger gave me a ride to the closest hotel, paid for my stay, bought me a hot meal and gave me a 100 dollars.

3. I was driving back from the ER with a sick toddler when I got a flat tire. A big rig truck pulled over, told me to sit in his cab with my sick child to keep the warm and he changed my tire and followed us to the ER to make sure we got there safe and sound.

*Americans who give to a charity average in monetary donations- $ 41. 39 per month.

My son Tommy came over yesterday afternoon after work to pick up a bed frame that originally belonged to Kaitlyn, his wife.

They are still working on getting their Air B&B up and ready for the New Year…but in the meantime a friend of Tommy’s needed a place for his toddler, wife, and (less than a week old baby)…they are in between having sold their house and having to wait to move into their new one.

No doubt it was a long night for Tommy and Kaitlyn after working all day… “magically” providing basic essentials for this family to move in today…but they both thought that they would certainly appreciate someone helping them out in the same situation.

As Tommy climbed up the steps to get the bed frame out of the apartment over the garage…look who was sunning up there and having a good time…Fuzz…Vickie’s cat! 🙂 Fuzz liked the summer weather yesterday!

…And Fuzz wasn’t alone…the Gazanias in the garden hanging baskets were doing their happy dance and opening all their blooms to the sun…

And the best surprise of all…”Little Big Red” has grown and done well since being cloned from ‘dear ole’ dad’…but to date hasn’t produced hardly any blooms…a bud appears but then drops off.

As I went to water “Little Big Red” there was a beautiful bud in the foils of preparing to bloom…my fingers are crossed and a quick prayer that the bud remains intact and my historical plant puts a red bow on its gift of life to me for Christmas this year.

So until tomorrow….“Three things in human life are important: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” Henry James

A remembrance:

Happy Birthday to our beloved Poppy…Mr. Dingle lived the motto of kindness every single day of his life…first and foremost. We miss him so!