Christmas is just around the corner and Santa and his elves have been working tirelessly at the North Pole – using proper protocols for social distancing, of course. While our traditions may be a little different this year due to the pandemic, let’s look back to those days when we were kids when we took making that Christmas wish list seriously.

Do you remember the Sears Catalog? It was huge!!! Must have been 20 lbs. My sisters and I would look through it for weeks trying to pick out the toys we wanted. We would make our lists over and over and over (because Mama said we shouldn’t be greedy ‘cause other kids wanted something, too). We would seal the lists in a special envelope for Santa, put it in the mailbox and watch anxiously to be sure the mailman got our letters. And then, miraculously on Christmas morning, the gifts we wanted so badly were in front of the fireplace just waiting for us. Now, we never got everything we wanted but, by the time Christmas arrived, we were so happy – I think we just forgot.

So, to get you in the spirit (if you’re not already there), and to help you get started with your list, here’s a few we came up with – let’s get the serious ones out of the way first:

• We want this pandemic to end!
• We want to gather safely and celebrate.
• We want to see our friends here and around the world.
• We want to feel the excitement of greeting our friends at the airport.
• We want to experience the butterflies of traveling to a new place and making new friends.
• We want peace in the world!

The excitement on Christmas morning, the long days leading up to Christmas, and the smell of cookies baking are memories many of us share. This year, we’re a little older (okay, maybe some of us a lot) but we’ll still anticipate this wonderful time of the year. 2020 may be a little different for many though and our wish is for all those who have personally borne the brunt of this awful disease, who have lost so much – loved ones, jobs, financial security – to receive the peace brought to us on this day so many years ago.

Wishing you peace and joy this holiday season,

Mae Ferguson
President/CEO