Tacoma, WA:

My family received a Christmas Jar and a copy of the book this year. It was our wonderful mail carrier who delivered it, but I don’t know who the giver was.

My family has certainly seen our share of trials and tribulations over the years starting with my dad moving cross-country for work and constantly being down-sized. We carried on and made ends meet. My mom and brother delivered newspapers (about 450+/-) every day. I worked 2 jobs, one full time and one part time as a CNA. We got by. A couple years later we almost lost my mom to illness. she only has 1 kidney and it’s function is greatly decreased. After 3 weeks in the hospital and 3 weeks in a rehab facility, she came home the day before my son’s 3rd birthday. Since then it’s been a battle with her health. Several problems and they tend to not be compatible with each other. We get one thing better and another acts up.

Three years later I had to have 2 surgeries in 1 year. I couldn’t work for 3 months straight and had almost no income and was months behind on my mortgage because of it. It took me almost 2 years to dig out of that hole. I finally caught a break and got to refinance my house the end of 2009.

June 23, 2010, my son had just gotten out of school the day before and we went to dinner with a good friend of my mom’s and her brother. On our way home (less than 2 miles from home) a teenager was texting while driving and hit us. I almost lost my mom AGAIN, this time because of someone else’s negligance. Ten days in the hospital and 8 days in rehab before Mom got to come home. She was on dialysis then. Stayed on it for 2 months and miraculously her kidney started working again. I had serious injuries, but nothing I had to be hospitalized for. However, I was again unable to work my normal shifts for over 3 months. I am blessed to have wonderful coworkers who made it possible for me to work shorter days so that I could regain some of my income. I finally returned to full duty Oct. 2010. I am fortunate to have a fantastic man in my life who helped me immensely while recovering.

May 2011, Mom ends up in the hospital for a week. She has to go back on dialysis. This is very scary for all of us, as we know what it means.

Whoever gave us this wonderful gift has watched us struggle and work through life for several years. They included a wonderful personal letter with the jar and book. I couldn’t help but cry as I read the letter. I just want to say to whoever is the giver, that Mom, my son and I greatly appreciate the generous gesture. This is truly what the spirit of Christmas is about.

Merry Christmas!!!