Sometimes A Little Goes A Long Way...

Today was the second day of a marathon shopping spree. I hate Christmas shopping. You spend shitloads of money on other people's kids, and get crappy presents back from their parents. Oh I miss my early twenties when none of my friends had children, and I only had to worry about buying them one present each. Just call me Ebenezer Scrooge. *g*

Anyway, I'm digressing, as usual...

Today was a particularly cold day in my town, and I do so hate the cold, so I bobbed into a Greggs to get a cheese and onion pastie, and a bottle of water. I left the shop, and proceeded to walk pass a homeless guy begging for money on the pavement (sidewalk to you Americans). As I usually do when I see homeless people, I totally ignored him and carried on walking.

In my head I was bitching about how crappy the English weather is, when something made me stop walking.

I suddenlly realised how totally ungrateful I was, because, yes, I was cold, but I had a nice warm home to go to. A lot of people weren't so lucky.

Anyway, I walked back to the homeless man and offered him my cheese and onion pastie, which he gratefully took from me.

It was such a small thing, but it seemed to mean an awful lot to him, and at that moment, I had a kind of epiphany (for want of a better word).

I have a really good life. I have a wonderful family who I love, and who love me, and I know that if I was ever in trouble, they'd always be there for me. I'm one of the lucky ones, so I should really take the time to appreciate that.

I don't really do New Year resolutions, because I think they're mostly pointless, but this year, my resolution will be to really appreciate what I have, and to open my eyes a bit more, and actually see those people who are less fortunate than myself, rather than being overly preoccupied with my own quite selfish thoughts.

And maybe once in a while, I can do something that takes very little effort from me, but means the world to them.

Merry Christmas everybody, and I hope that you and your families all have a prosperous New Year.

I'll be back when the Christmas hoopla stops kicking my arse.