The Reason for the Season

{On the pediatric floor at Roswell Park, I snapped this photo last week when we dropped off gift cards and toys from the Buffalo Bisons yoga toy drive event} 

To say I am not really in the Holiday spirit this year is not a lie. I am usually one who loves this time of year and really gets into it, but this year, not so much. To lift my spirits  I decided to do some more good, so I adopted a family. My cousin Nathan who has recently passed from brain cancer was very involved in the Punt Foundation. I decided to reach out to the organization and get more details.

After discussing my budget with them, they found me a family that I thought was a perfect fit. After I received the family's wish list I made the trek out to the stores to get what I needed. Last week I dropped the presents off at the Punt Foundation and after I did I sat in my car and cried. The tears were both happy and sad. Happy tears because it felt really good to be a part of a small task that was helping someone else - complete strangers that I never met and sad tears because it reminded me a lot of my cousin, who is no longer here, but was with me during this experience.

{The Stitch Buffalove Heart Project - 80% of the proceeds go back to a refugee woman living in Buffalo,I got my heart at Elm Street Bakery in East Aurora} 

At the end of the day I would rather help those in need, the gift I receive from helping others is far more greater than any materialistic gift. During a time when people lose sight of the really meaning of this season, its best to take a step back and really think about what is important.

-B