It’s that time of year again. Decorations are going up, the temperature is dropping, and we might just see some snow. Like it or not, winter is here. If you’re like me, the first part of winter is exciting–Christmas plans, eating lots of delicious food and seeing family. After a little while though, I start to get a little stir crazy. Cabin fever starts to sink in and my house seems a little bit smaller. It is then that the Community Center becomes even more of a blessing. Just having a place to come and run around or shoot some baskets helps to relieve some of it. What really makes me feel better though is interacting with the rest of the guests and members.
There are the little preschoolers walking in the hall talking about Christmas and snow and thinking that Christmas must be coming soon because December is synonymous with Christmas. There are the members trying to get a head start on their New Year’s resolutions and trying to work off Thanksgiving and prepare for Christmas. There are the school kids walking over at the end of the day, just trying to survive a couple more weeks of school until Christmas break.
My favorite reminder of Christmas at the Community Center though, and the one that reminds me of how blessed I am and how all of the stresses of the holidays aren’t as bad as I think, is the sight of the Christmas for Everyone boxes filling up and the bags of donations coming in for the food and clothing closet. It’s amazing to see people from the community–OUR community–sacrificing so that other members of OUR community can have a better Christmas. That’s what the Community Center is all about-not just helping people get in shape or burn off some energy-but about coming together to help the entire community have a Merry Christmas!
