JILLMIRODESIGNS.COM

Merry Christmas! I love this town I grew up in.  It's shanty in a lot of ways.  I didn't notice as a kid all the areas of his town that look really kind of rough around the edges.  At the bottom of my street, is a car service lot, a train station and a seemingly abandoned pool business.   It's very industrial looking down there in that whole area at the bottom of all our blocks in the neighborhood.  Which is such a stark contrast to how I imagine my home town in my mind.  My little town that's tucked away in the arm pit of NYC was once filled with colonial houses, huge yards, and even huger empty plots of land that were filled with brush, and bike trails, and club houses and hiding spots.  We used to be able to play manhunt at dusk and REALLY have to look.  We were allowed in any and all neighbor's yards (except Mr P's because he was in Vietnam and suffered severely from ptsd). 
We were allowed to grab our huffy's right after school and head right back to the school yard to play kick ball.  From there, we'd ride to the Conference House (google it), and ride miles and miles on those pink huffys.
I went to a very small Catholic grammar school.  I only kept in touch with a handful of kids from that school once I left and went to public school in 4th grade. But I always felt a certain closeness with the kids from my early grammar school class--- they were all part of the Old Tottenville too... and we will always have that in common.
Just recently, I got back in touch with of my classmates, Jill.  She was in my class since at least first grade, for sure, maybe kindergarden?  I remember her from when I was 5 years old.  She was quiet, but beautiful.  Perfectly cute and well behaved in first grade.  My twin sister was so intimidated by her that she remembers offering her cookies at lunchtime in first grade to try to make friends with her.

Fast forward 30 years.   Here I am, back in my hometown, in the same house I grew up in, for some very unfortunate reasons.   Jill, ironically, is also in the house she grew up in.  Luckily for Jill, she's in her Mom's house because she and her husband have been renovating their home.  I drove past it the other day, and it is absolutely gorgeous!  I couldn't be more happy for such a sweet girl and her family.

After learning about all the stuff I've been going through, Jill has become a very positive constant in my life.  She reaches out and asks if she can help.  She asks for play dates with our boys (two of her sons are about the same age as my two), and just always has kind words for me.  She checks in from time to time via text messages, or facebook to ask how I'm doing, or comment on all the stuff in this blog that upsets her or that she knows upsets me.  I'd like to say that I've been as good a friend to her, but that wouldn't be true.  I'm horrible at keeping in touch, even when I fully intend to.  Even with my best friend of 22 years, K, I'm bad at returning phone calls-- luckily, K is the type of friend that I can go weeks without talking to, but we pick right up where we left off once we get back in touch.

So Christmas Eve came and went, and Christmas morning brought great smiles and squeals of delight from the boys.  There was NO disappointment detected in either of them.  They went bananas over their hex bugs and $3 plastic lazer guns.  My parents got them wii--- so they were pretty much in Heaven.  After all the morning excitement died down, my next door neighbor called to ask me to bring the boys over because her mother ("Grandma Flo")  had gotten them each a gift.  So we put on our robes and ran next door.  I brought the boys in, and realized I hadn't brought over the gift that my neighbor had been hiding at our house for her husband.  So I ran back to my house- maybe a minute later, to find two huge shopping bags stuffed FULL of wrapped presents on my porch, with a small jewely box and an envelope on the top of the pile. 
I quickly brought the bags inside and opened the card.  Inside was cash, and a note from Jill-- "I hope this helps some.  Merry Christmas, Love Jill and family"  The jewelry box held a beautiful bracelet that she made herself..  She has a small business and makes custom jewelry and gifts.  She is so talented, and I was so touched that she gave me something that came from her heart and she made with her hands.
I sent her a quick text thanking her for the generous gifts, but that I just can't accept the money.. it was just too much.  Too over the top.  She replied that after reading my blog about what I spent on Christmas, that she and her whole family chipped in because they wanted to pay off my Target bill.  Needless to say, tears welled and I thanked her again.  I told her that my food stamps came through (I'll tell that story another time), and so one night I would really love to cook a great dinner for her to say thank you.  She agreed.

I left the gifts for the boys in the bags to save for later.. 

Several hours later, J approached me in the kitchen and said, "Hey Mom, ya know what we forgot?" 
"What's that, J?"
"We forgot to go to Daddy's house!!!"
"oh, yeah.. about that.  Well, Daddy's boss called him and told him that he has to go to work today, so we can't go. Sorry baby."  
---cue the quivering lips and crumpling chin.
So I said, "But ya know what else we forgot???  I forgot to tell you that there are two HUGE bags of presents from Jill that you and R still get to open!!"

That did the trick.  Huge giddy smile, and he went running inside to tell his brother that they had more toys to open, and he forgot all about his sorrow about his deadbeat father.

I let Jill know that she single handedly saved my Christmas.   I wanted to use this blog tonight to try to help her promote her business... because I don't feel like I have a whole lot to repay her with, but enough of you out there read this, so please take a look at her things.  She does beautiful work, and she deserves to have something great happen for her.   This kind of person doesn't come into our lives every day, and when one does, we should try to make something great happen to their world too.

WWW.JILLMIRODESIGNS.COM


Thanks, Jill!  xoxo