It's Over

Share Your Christmas is over! After months of planning and six weeks of sign ups it's all over! About 565 families (the count isn't official yet) received gifts and food during the two days of distribution. 415 of those families were yesterday, the rest this morning. We worked from 8:30 AM to 6 PM yesterday, 8:30 to 12:30 today. My main job was putting the family information up so that all the different groups could see which family was being served. I sat at the first table with my laptop and projector typing in family ID numbers and blowing my whistle! That was to let everyone know that a new family had been posted. My other job was helping my church be sure we had our gift bags ready when they came by to pick them up. It helped that my church ladies were sitting at the table next to me. Yes, it was planned that way!

I love this program. I receive such a blessing out of being able to help others. My friend Betty and I do the sign ups because we are the 'computer literate' people on the PCCSM board. I heard so many stories this year about lost jobs, unemployment benefits running out, losing homes, no heat or electricity. If giving a family a few gifts and some food can help brighten the day for them, then all the stress is worth it.

Now I can relax for a little while. I won't have to set the alarm tonight and get up before the crack of dawn in the morning. I can sleep in! I'd like to spend the day at home but I am so far behind at the library that I need to go in and work on stuff. For the last 7 weeks I've only been putting in one day, sometimes two, a week. I was behind before and now there's even more boxes of court cases to be proofed in addition to collections that need finding aids and books to index. I guess this is job security--except there is no pay!

I will be baking cookies tomorrow evening and Saturday for a bake sale at church on Sunday. I have a new recipe I am going to try out.