It's that easy to do something good for someone else
Meanwhile, we have been here for a week in LA and we are fully settled in. Big SUV in front of the door, every morning a large coffee to go and Otis happily waving at everyone who says ‘bye’. It takes some getting used to sitting in the car for at least thirty minutes to go somewhere, but Otis has adjusted his power naps accordingly. Fortunately, I was able to quickly let go of my phone (now the nine-hour time difference helps that you don't receive emails and messages during the day) and be completely in the here and now. But don't worry: wherever I am in the world, I will always keep typing cheerful updates for you.
I still find it incredible what a little vitamin D does for your overall well-being: in the Netherlands, Jon and I were already sniffling and feeling fluish, but after a week those symptoms literally disappeared like snow in the sun (rays). Why doesn't this ever work like that with vitamin D from a bottle (at least, not for me)? Ideally, I would like to squeeze out a month during the winter every year to seek the sun and give my body a boost.
In the past, in the month of December it was always double the celebration: besides Saint Nicholas and Christmas, I also have my birthday on the 23rd. The big downside: at some point, you run out of your wish list and would prefer to save your birthday wishes for six months later to spread everything a bit. Especially now that I am older and my wish list has become smaller anyway (if I really want something, I save for it myself), I prefer to donate my wish list to a charity or organization that really needs it. So, during Sinterklaas evening, we donated our Saint budget with all our friends to the Because We Carry foundation. With the same group, we wrote a large stack of Christmas cards for the Elderly Fund for Christmas, because unfortunately, many elderly people spend the holidays alone. I absolutely do not want to play Mother Teresa, but hopefully, I can inspire you to do something special for someone else during this ‘holiday month’. Writing one Christmas card is a small effort, but a big gesture for someone else.
Of course, it is difficult to make such a choice for someone else, but perhaps there is a golden mean for this. The LINDA.foundation (which this year delivered 4000 packages filled with gift vouchers to Dutch families living below the poverty line) has a beautiful collaboration with Rivièra Maison in the form of special Christmas napkins, part of the proceeds of which goes to the foundation. Or give a beautiful Zoo&Me animal design poster as a gift, which directly donates to a well-known foundation that supports the animal on the poster. This way, you can still place a nice gift under the tree AND support a good cause.
