(Mirrored from Facebook earlier tonight.)

I was asked to describe what kind of rekindled the Christmas Spirit that kind of sputtered and died within me over the past few weeks… Well, sometimes, it’s the little things. (Doesn’t it always seem to be the little things?)

“On The Last Episode of Julie Anne…”
– She’s still out of work, it’s been over two weeks now… Gee, just like 16 years ago, innit?
– Self-doubt about her own abilities, much less being able to keep a job and do the work if she can find another job, yet she doesn’t have a problem with being comfortable in her own skin (Well, then, why isn’t she taking the plunge and coming out and going full time?)
[Easy, it’s kind of rough to do it without a job, without income, and not really having things set up with a place to stay if she gets booted out of her mom’s house.]

Monday, Christmas Eve 2012 – Mom’s preparing dinner for the family gathering. (At Julie’s sister’s house!)
… And we’re missing a roasting pan to accommodate a good-sized portion of pork loin to roast. (Yeah, Julie Anne left the pan at someone’s house after Thanksgiving. oops!) ^_^;

So… it’s a mad rush to Fry’s down the road from Salon De Julie Anne… Wall to wall people… Not sure if she can find what she’s looking for – A roasting pan, and 16 ounces of Kroger-branded sour cream.

I just about gave up after five minutes, and was about to abandon to head to Dollar General across the street for sour cream…

When I saw it… out there in a display of other stuff, mostly other cookware, out on the main floor or Fry’s…. One roasting pan, still in the box… perhaps the last one in stock? Yeah, after about a minute to think about it, I grabbed it….

And then, a quick trip across the store to the dairy section to get the sour cream, and I was just about frozen, seeing that most of the good stuff was picked over. (Sis isn’t big on Daisy Sour Cream) – Someone else came up, spotted the last three 16 oz. containers, took two for her, and left one for me.

Like I said, it’s the little things… The unexpected miracles, and the kindness of others… (Well, as I played it off with typical guy banter… Yeah, I was in boy-mode again… I’ve gotta stop doing that….)

It’s a start, I guess… The road is still long, but I guess it doesn’t matter, as long as you make up your mind to keep moving forward, even with every setback.