That my sister passed away last Monday from a rare ear infection she had. I’m extremely relieved that she’s no longer in pain and out of misery. If you’d like to know a little bit about her, my brother-in-law wrote a nice obituary. https://www.mundenfuneralhome.net/obituary/KathleenCathy-Duda

A lot of viewers/readers have been wondering how I am doing, and honestly, I’m OK. It’s sad when you are the last of your immediate family to be living, but it’s also a fact of life that I’ve always known would probably be my lot, as my sister was a type 1 diabetic since age four and lived to 63, which is an amazing feat.

I’ve been working on ways to keep myself busy, and have been finding ways to give back during the Christmas season. I love donating time and energy to others and it makes me feel better about myself as a human, when I do.

I worked with a wonderful woman for many years..She’s now 87 and has two sons that don’t do much with her or for her. She had a stroke seven years ago and lost function in her right side, and during non-Covid times, I’d take her out for lunch and spend time with her when I’m available. Since it wasn’t possible this year, I decided to buy her some presents for Christmas that might help her get through a long winter. I bought her crossword puzzle books, an adult coloring book, markers and a bunch of small things that will make her Christmas day a little brighter (I hope.) I made her a fleece knotted blanket for her birthday in November, and when I took it to her, she said “thanks for caring.” That almost broke my heart since she’s such a lovely woman, and, I think, once people hit a certain age, they’re almost forgotten, and I don’t want her to think she is.

I’ve mentioned this before in a blog post…when I was young, my mother had a friend that she “adopted” for Christmas, and every year I looked forward to hearing all about the gifts my mom got her and how excited the lady was to get them. Since Rich and I don’t have any children, I look forward to paying it forward on Christmas, and I’m hoping this year, my girlfriend will not be upset with the gifts we are delivering, as they’re given in the spirit of love.

I hope if you know of someone who is alone at Christmas, that you’ll also do something small to let them know you care….as this year, it’s especially important that people know they are not alone, even though Covid makes us feel like we are.

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