Happy Holidays from Supermutt!

 By Kim “Supermutt” Goodman

Around this time of the year many people are in the giving spirit and like to give freely from their heart. Many families happily gather together and enjoy each other’s company. A lot of people feel sympathy for those who are homeless because they are without a home to share their holidays with. Other people give because it is the end of the year and close to tax time.

If you were one of those people who got the opportunity to sit down and share a Thanksgiving dinner with your family be thankful, not everyone has a family to sit down and share a meal with. It is true that homeless people don’t have a home to cook or eat a meal in, but there are many people who have a home and a kitchen to cook a meal in and don’t have anyone to sit down and share a meal with. They spend their holidays alone and sometimes that can cause them a great deal of emotional pain.

The next set of holidays are here and as you plan to buy gifts for your loved ones remember that the best gifts in life don’t always cost money. You don’t have to go broke or put yourself in financial debt, but many people choose to because it is easy. If a person has a job and a credit card it is easy for them to charge up a lot of material things and pay it off later.

The best gift you can give your loved ones is your time. Sure expensive gifts are nice but your time is much more valuable. Many people find that giving their time can to be too hard. Many times they are too busy working and dealing with their personal lives to share a great deal of time with their loved ones.

Even though it may be hard for you, this year try to give those you love a little of your time, especially the children, the elderly and the disabled. If you bought them a gift take the time to see how they like the gift you got them. If you bought your child a video game system let them show you how to play it and play a game with them every so often. If you bought your grandmother or mother a set of pans, let her cook you a meal in them every now and then. If you bought your loved one an art set or a musical instrument take the time to look at their artwork or listen to their music from time to time.

When you take the time to take an interest in what your loved ones are doing and say encouraging words to them it will mean a lot to them. Time has a lot of power and it builds great memories. A little of your times shows a person that you care and backs up the words, “I love you.”

Children who have parents who take time with them are well behaved, feel good about themselves and grow up emotionally healthy. Elderly people who have someone to spend time with them are more active and happy. Many elderly people who spend a great deal of time alone are often mean, crabby and sit around the house miserable.

The key to a longer life is being loved. If a person feel loved and valued they will value themselves and do whatever it takes to stay healthy so that they can be around their loved one as long as they can. The love from others gives them the drive to get up each day and live their life to the fullest. Those who don’t feel cared for don’t live they exist. Without love in their life, their lives seems meaningless and they are unable to fully value themselves.