Sometimes it is hard to see beyond the end of our own nose. We don’t do it on purpose. Life is chaotic – for everyone. I consider any day that I can get my oldest daughter ready for school without out her forgetting something and me getting to work on time a good one! I would be thrilled if that were my biggest problem in a day, but it isn’t. I have been very fortunate (even with some of the curve balls thrown at me) to be able to keep my head above water. I have an awesome support system that I am super grateful for.

I often wonder what it would be like if when my life is on high tilt and I feel like I am going in 20 different directions at once if life just went on automatic slo-mo. This way I would be forced to realize what is in front of me at any given moment. I try to actively keep this in mind, so that on crazy busy days I take a few moments to take a breath and appreciate what it around me and how my life is truly blessed.

Silver linings aren’t too hard to find if you just make time to look for them. Life could always be a little more difficult and busy. There have been times when we have struggled and the community we live in has helped – sometimes without us even knowing before hand. My oldest daughter was born in December, and the year she was born someone in our town put our name in at the local church and we came home one night to a bag of baby supplies and toys, along with a box full of food to make a Christmas dinner. I was blown away. Someone saw us as a young family getting started and thought they might be able to help us during that holiday season, and we were very appreciative. We knew we would be going to our families house for dinner and that someone else could really use that dinner – that was the first year I donated to Manna (http://www.mannamaine.org/pantry-kitchen/pantry-kitchen).

Every year since I have donated money when our local radio station does a turkey drive with all donations going to Manna, which helps fill local food pantries and serves meals to those in need. I know that my kids will have a hot meal every night, not just on holidays, and that they don’t have to worry about what they will have for their next meal – or if there will even be a meal. We also do the Stamp Out Hunger food drive through the postal service, and other events throughout the year, along with donations to other entities. I also know that in the grand scheme of things, my little donations aren’t much, but when a community comes together it can turn into something amazing!

In the spirit of giving and saying thank you, I decided I would bring a sweet treat, along with my donation, to the local DJs this year and say thank you for what they do each year to help raise awareness of hunger in our community and help Manna meet their goal. They have spent three days in the local Hannaford parking lot to collect turkeys. I hope they enjoy the cheesecake with strawberry sauce!