Happy St. Nicholas’s Day!
If you celebrate this feast in your country, you know it’s a day for gifts—so in recognition of that, I thought I’d post a sweet message from my younger daughter:
Dear Mama—
So I was walking out of Sprouts [grocery store] last night with a few things and I saw a homeless person setting up shop for the night in the alcove. And there’s me in my warm jacket with food for my family walking to my new car about to go to my warm house with my beautiful, healthy babies and that hit me hard.
Anyways, lots of things about gratitude and doing nice things this time of year and everybody should probably be doing nice things all year but would you consider posting something about it? Obviously totally fine if not; your page and all.
But if you do, here are some things we’ve been doing and other ideas:
- donate to a food bank
- donate to any cause you care about
- visit elderly neighbors or a care home
- tell someone you love them
- pay someone a compliment
- hold the door
- tell someone you appreciate them
- thank firefighters, policemen, doctors, paramedics etc for helping us or make them cookies or a card (my doctor who has a 6- month-old called me on a Sunday with an answer about something and apologized to ME for calling on the weekend as she caught up on work so S and I are taking her flowers later today)
- buy someone a coffee
Anyways, post it if you like and either way thanks for being so amazing in all the ways and always being so kind yourself all year round. We love you.
Jenny
Diana here: All wonderful suggestions for the season! I’d add just one more: Smile at people when you pass them in the street.
Years ago, I was walking toward a store in San Diego, and passed an older woman coming the other way. I caught her eye, and smiled at her—no reason, but she looked pleasant.
To my astonishment, her face went blank with shock, and she stood there with her mouth open. I thought maybe she was having a dizzy spell or something and said, “Do you need help?”
She shook her head and said, with tears in her eyes, “I was just walking along, thinking that nobody cares whether I’m even alive, and praying that maybe someone would just… notice me—and you did.”
A tiny thing is a tiny thing—but sometimes it’s bigger than you think.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and a Blessed Winter Solstice to you all!
-Diana
The image above of St. Nicholas is from Wikipedia.
This blog was first posted on my only official Facebook page on December 6, 2019.
Dear Diana,
Thank you for posting this!
I always thought it so sad that nobody smiles at anybody anymore. I’m from Germany and live in a small village now, but even here it became scarce that anybody will smile at you in the streets. So thank you for posting this little reminder and if even one person more will smile at somebody in the streets now, it will be more than have paid off.
As in your memory, it might make somebody’s day or even dissuade a person about to harm themselves from their dark thoughts!
Greetings from Germany
Merry Christmas!
Franziska
Dear Diana,
Thisis note from your daughter is so beautiful! I am blessed with daughters that are very much like yours. We, as a family, try to do the things suggested in your daughter’s note on a regular basis. And, we are teaching our five grandkids to do the same.
Love to you and yours!
P.s. You and my wonderful husband share the same birth date.
~Linda
Hola me llamo Micaela escribo desde España ,he leído casi todos los libros (electrónicos) de la saga Forastera . Pero cuando quise comprar el siguiente libro “Ecos del pasado” me doy cuenta que es imposible comprarlo en Apple Book y en ninguna aplicación electrónica. Me pueden decir porque. Diana felicitaciones por toda la saga ,es impresionante. Gracias.
Google translation to English:
Hello my name is Micaela I write from Spain, I have read almost all the (electronic) books of the Forastera saga. But when I wanted to buy the next book “Echoes of the past” I realize that it is impossible to buy it in Apple Book and in any electronic application. Can you tell me why. Congratulations Diana for the whole saga, it’s awesome. Thank you.
Hola, Micaela,
La librería Apple en los Estados Unidos vende una versión electrónica de ECOS DEL PASADO (Libro 7 en español) para ipads, iphones, etc. de Apple. Vaya a:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/ecos-del-pasado-saga-outlander-7/id1488339094
Si no puede realizar un pedido desde la URL anterior y hacer que se entregue a España, comuníquese con su tienda Apple o librería local para obtener ayuda.
Lo comprobé y amazon.es no tiene una forma de libro electrónico de ECOS DEL PASADO, como usted señaló. No estoy seguro de por qué, pero estoy investigando esto y publicaré las respuestas que encuentre.
Tenga en cuenta que Amazon en todos los países generalmente ofrece solo las versiones electrónicas Kindle de libros, pero no la versión de Apple para iPhone, iPad y Mac. Los usuarios de Apple compran libros electrónicos a través de la librería de Apple en línea.
La versión Kindle de un libro electrónico vendido en Amazon está formateada para tabletas Kindle.
Espero que esto ayude.
¡Gracias!
Diana
———-
Hello, Micaela,
The Apple bookstore in the United States sells an electronic version of ECOS DEL PASADO (Book 7 in Spanish) for Apple ipads, iphones, etc. Go to:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/ecos-del-pasado-saga-outlander-7/id1488339094
If you cannot order from the URL above and have it delivered to Spain, please contact your local Apple store or bookstore for help.
I checked and amazon.es does not have an ebook form of ECOS DEL PASADO, as you pointed out. I am not sure why but am researching this and will post any answers that I find.
Note that amazon in all countries usually offers only the Kindle electronic versions of books, but not the Apple version for Apple iPhones, iPads and Macs. Apple users purchase electronic books through the Apple bookstore online.
The Kindle version of an electronic book sold on Amazon is formatted for Kindle tablets.
I hope this helps.
Thanks!
Diana
Thank-you. I needed to read that right now at this very moment. I cannot express the swelling of my heart and the tears gathering in my eyes. Thank you and your younger daughter. Sometimes you can’t see what you have for the muck of this Earth. Happy Holidays