I have been away from my blog for far too long. I started to get itchy fingers this morning and decided there was no time like the present to post.


It's December and the city is filled with snow. Signs of the holiday are everywhere — you can't escape them. From the Christmas music playing in the stores, on the radio and even in the street to the tinseled streetlights and houses dripping with icicle lights.

I have had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit the last few years. Last year, it wasn't until just before Christmas Eve I felt really happy for the holiday. I put up my little tree this weekend, and even though I usually delight in placing the ornaments evenly around the circumference, this year, I let Moira and Maggie do all the decorating. They did a fabulous job. I sat on the couch and watched two, yes two, Hallmark Christmas movies this weekend. They both made me cry (one because of the emotional ending and one because the acting was so terrible). Still, I am not quite ready for the holidays to begin.

Each year we try to do something for someone less fortunate than ourselves. It brings a little humility and always makes us thankful for what we have. Most years we pick a family and do the 12 days of Christmas — leaving them small gifts and home baked goodies. This year, Jon had a different idea. For two weeks out of the month we are not having regular dinners. Instead, we are choosing two countries — the first is Mexico — and eating what those in the poorer regions eat. This week we will be dining on rice and beans (small portions), tortillas and maybe one dinner that involves chicken. The money we would normally spend has been put toward purchasing the items for a few Christmas dinners and miscellaneous non-perishable foods. We will take this all to the food bank this week.

I am grateful my kids don't have to be cajoled into doing this. They know we are blessed and have no problems giving to others. Hopefully, this will put me in the true Christmas spirit and I can enjoy the holiday with my wonderful family knowing we did something for someone else.

Last week I received a letter in the mail telling me I would soon be receiving a U.S. Census to fill out. The government kindly spent money on printing, envelope and stamp to give me a heads up. A few days later my census papers came in the mail. After two days, before I even had a chance to open my census envelope, I received a postcard in my mailbox. The government sent me this card to let me know that I should have received my census already and if I had, to disregard this postcard and please remember to fill out the census and return it. If I hadn’t already received my census, the postcard warned me that I should soon. It’s a good thing they sent this to me because otherwise my census papers may have sat on my table for another few days. It would be a shame if I didn’t send this back within 24-hours of receiving it.

In reality, I don’t have a problem with the census. I am just lazy. My mother, on the other hand, said she would not fill out her forms. Instead, she is going to make the census workers come to her door. She said that for the amount of money they are paying them, they should have to work for it. This bitterness could come from the fact she applied for a position with the census and did not get hired. While my mother wants the taxpayers to get the most from the money they are contributing to pay for the census, she doesn’t have a problem actually giving her information.

I don’t understand the animosity by some, mainly staunch conservatives, toward the census. Several opponents to the Obama administration are urging the public to answer only one of the 10 questions included on the census — the number of people in their household. It’s not like the other nine questions are asking people to reveal their foot fetishes or whether they sleep in the nude. The census asks questions about your sex (not how much or what kind), ethnicity, household size and whether or not you own a home. This seems pretty standard to me. Maybe I am being too laid back about the whole thing, but hasn’t the census been around since 1790? And correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t some of the conservatives who are so upset over the census the same ones that rely on it to fill out their family trees when doing their genealogy? Yes Glenn Beck, I am talking about you.

Whether you feel the country is devising an evil plan to take away your freedoms, or you want to get your taxpayer’s money worth and make the clipboard toting census workers come to your door, I urge you to answer the questions. For goodness sake, the world will not end in the two minutes it takes to fill it out. In fact, the information might be helpful in the next 10 years. If that’s not enough to convince you, the government is kind enough to save you 44 cents and give you a postage-paid envelope to return it in. I’m a sucker for free postage.