The Ugly Truth About Christmas

THE UGLY TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS:

It’s that wonderful time of year when holiday cheer is in the air. Everyone is in a hurry and trying to beat the dreaded deadline of shopping, cooking, and finding a new place for the elf on the shelf. The hustle and bustle begins in November and doesn’t stop until the end of the first week of January. For 60 days we are focused on completing everything that has to be done and not on what really counts, each other.

I am a self-proclaimed scrooge when it comes to Christmas. The only thing I truly enjoy is my family and midnight mass (aka 10:00 mass.) This year I decided to change all that and go back to basics. With the complete support of my family and team at Harness TechED, I bought the most amazing Ugly Sweater Christmas Suit with the sole purpose of bringing smiles to everyone’s face. To date I have worn the suit 3 times, taken nearly 100 photos, and have said MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone I met. Put yourself out there and see what a difference you can make.

Here’s the first ugly truth about Christmas. We don’t share with each other what makes this time of year special. This time of year is a gift. A gift that is simple and easy to pass on. Some of us call it faith, others call it friendship, but at its core it is best known as humanity. Take the time to look around. I call this the It’s A Wonderful Life goggles. Do something small that makes a difference in someone’s life. Smile for no reason. Give someone a card. Shake a strangers hand and say MERRY CHRISTMAS.

The best part about the past 7 days is:

1. Saying MERRY CHRISTMAS out loud to everyone I met.
2. Using my business as a way to give back to the community (Time & Money.)
3. Wearing a stupid Ugly Sweater Christmas Suit to help ME regain some Christmas Spirit

****THE SECOND AND WORST UGLY TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS****

Out of everything and everyone I tried to help this season, I let 2 people down (Lauren and Stephen Sullivan.) Lauren and Stephen were married shortly before Veteran’s Day in November. Stephen’s mom reached out to me to see if I could help facilitate their orders faster to Germany so they could both go together.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with how the military works, let’s just say it can be a LITTLE challenging. I got to work and started reaching out to everyone I knew. We all made calls and messaged everyone that could help expedite the process. Our main goal was to get them together no later than Christmas so they could spend their first one together.

I’m not going to lie, I really thought we could make this happen, but it looks like it is going to fall short. The ugly truth about Christmas is that not everyone gets a miracle, but we still believe that something wonderful and magical can and will happen. These two represent so many military families this holiday season spending the holiday without someone truly special in their lives.

Please say a special prayer for Lauren and Stephen this Christmas and know that soon (not soon enough) they will be in each others arms, smiling at each other with puppy dog eyes, and celebrating their new marriage…together. MERRY CHRISTMAS to all and to all a good night.