A great Christmas story from ‘Little Women’

Hello everyone! Fall is in the air and the leaves have mostly fallen. The holidays are screaming out of our calendars, begging for attention.

You are probably preparing for guests, family members showing up, shopping for presents and cooking. In the holiday season more often than not America ignores Thanksgiving altogether. They skip right over gratitude to launch Christmas.

The ads, stores, family and friends talk about getting and giving; rather than being grateful for what we have. One of my favorite books, Little Women, has a scene in which the sisters give up their Christmas dinner to a poor family living in a shed.

The March family does not have a lot of food or clothing, they were looking forward to having a hot, delicious meal for the first time in a long time. Yet they merrily skipped to their neighbors' shack and blessed them with food. The key factor in this story is that the girls did not have an abundance of food back home.

They did not have the means to recreate the dinner that they gave away. But the joy on the young children’s faces was more than enough to fill their hearts. As the story goes on, James Laurence, the old man in the mansion next door sees the girls giving their Christmas dinner away and sends them a feast.

The March sisters had no idea of what was waiting for them back in their home. They gave thinking they would not get anything in return. This is the true meaning of the holidays, giving without expecting anything in return. I hope all who read this will show the meaning of this lovely season to someone they know or a stranger.

Enjoy this time making memories, laughing, singing carols, baking cookies with your kids, decorating the tree and being grateful for wherever you are in your life. No matter how stressful these holidays get or how frustrating it can be to put lights on a tree; remember this is the season of giving and being grateful for all the beautiful people that surround you this holiday season.