Well, another month of this year…and of life…gone.
November are always packed full for me. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) as well as Thanksgiving. Now throw in Guy Fawkes. To top it all off, it is sandwiched right between…Halloween and Christmas.
Cookie Monster was in meetings for almost three full days this week too. You see his company like me feel that November and early December is the time to look at long term planning.
By the end of the month…usually Black Friday…I am asking myself…
Where did the year go?
Why didn’t I get more done?
And of course, I also begin to plan for the next year…on top of decorating for Christmas, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and all the rest.
Yes, I am exhausted. Yet, I am up and writing…trying to keep the NaNoWriMo, write every day, ball rolling. The house looks like a hurricane hit. Well, two actually, PanKwake’s real name is not one but TWO hurricanes.
And I am buried under Christmas decorations…and rushing out to buy more. You see there is a tiny bit more house to decorate this year.
But overall, I know I am the luckiest girl alive…
- I have a beautiful, articulate, opinionated, determined, #HappilyAutistic and #ProudlyPDA little human.
- I have the most wonderful, kind-hearted, considerate, intelligent, and handsome man in the whole wide universe as my partner.
- We live in an friggin’ mansion…even if it is hard to keep clean, organize, and decorate for all the holidays.
- I have a great group of ladies…and little humans…and a couple of guys too that I count as friends.
- I have half a dozen or more finished manuscripts…and the dream of pursuing my PhD.
- And of course the basics…heating, clothes, food, etc.
The thing is…not everyone is so lucky.
SistaSarah and I have taken to making sam’iches (sandwiches) and taking them out to the homeless on Friday afternoon. Not only do those people not have the basics like warmth, food, and a safe place to sleep at night. But they don’t have that most wonderful thing of all…Family.
They do have friends though. These people look out for one another in a way that the rest of us seem to have forgotten how. It is humbling to offer food to a woman only to watch her hand stop just short of taking it. She wanted to know if we had seen her friend around the corner. She would not take our food until she knew that we had feed her friend.
But it is not just the homeless this year.
It is children like it has not been in decades…perhaps a century.
While lord Soley is so worried about POLICING #HomeEducation, there will be SCHOOL children this year who will go to bed hungry for days…eighteen of them. Our most vulnerable little humans won’t have at least one warm meal a day at school. On top of that…many won’t be having Christmas at all this year.
Because of politicians…like you lord Soley!
The Universal Credits debacle it is sending us back to Charles Dicken’s Victorian age of deprivation and poverty.
Ya’ll know me though…I don’t believe in either politicians or religion to save us. We gotta save ourselves…and one another.
Last night as we unpacked all the decorations, Cookie Monster wore the black Bah-Humbug hat. While he may nix this amazing decoration for our front lawn…
He is anything but an Ebenezer Scrooge. Not only does he take good care of us, but he allows me my little Crazzies like feeding the homeless and yesterday buying four bags full of things for food pantries.
I know that most people can’t do that…but then as the bible says…
To him whom much is given, much is expected. (Luke 12:48 bible)
And goddess knows this girl has been given so damned much that it is humbling. Not just the financial things either…the important ones like…
- Understanding…
- Acceptance…
- Respect…
- Unconditional Love…
- …and oh so very, very much Laughter.
Of course, I am obligated to pass it on. That is a solemn duty called…stewardship.
But back to the story of the hat…we got to talking with PanKwake about where the word Bah-Humbug came for. We were trying to explain Dickens’ Christmas Carol to her. Of course, wouldn’t you know…YouTube had bet us to it. She knew the whole darn story and started telling us about it. Darn, #RadiCoolUnschooling I never get to edu-me-cate her.
But we also talked about how this Christmas may be one of the worst…at least in modern memory. You see that is the other thing…our #HomeEd little humans see things clearer. the understand the world and how it works…or more accurately DOESN’T work. Especially #neurodivergent, #HappilyAutistic, and #ProudlyPDA ones.
Now I know not everyone has the ability to give like we are…but we can all do something.
A single can costs less than 50 pence…I bought several 3 for a pound ones like ravioli, mac-n-cheese, and spaghetti-ohs. Little human delights. The cuppa soup things were also 3 for a pound.
But I know even that may be hard for some people…an old jumper that is still good but you don’t wear…jeans…shoes…the little human’s old coat. Those cost nothing…but are just as needed right now.
And if you have a bit more…a new toy for a needy child this year.
But you know what our Friday trips have taught SistaSarah and I? A smile and a kind word costs you NOTHING! But when the world looks away…walks past you…all day long…they can make a huge difference to someone.
The poor…the homeless…they still need those same things…
- Understanding…
- Acceptance…
- Respect…
- Unconditional Love…
- …and if not laughter…at least a smile and kind word.
In the words of Tiny Tim…
Self-Directed Learning & Neurodiversity 