I’m sitting at my computer and feeling conflicted. While my focus should be the upcoming Christmas holiday and calling to one and all to join us in the Katy Warner Christmas Fund, I’m distracted and dismayed by the events on Sunday morning in Lakewood.
When those who we trust to serve and protect us, keep us safe from the dangers inherent in the modern world are themselves murdered, our sense of personal security is shaken.
I am going to thank every member of law enforcement I see. I appreciate the dangers, the drudgery and the uncertainty that makes up so much of what they do for society.
Another area of distracted focus is the changes taking place in my husband’s family.
His grandmother, a remarkable 99-year-old woman, is in the slow transition of dying.
We celebrate all we have shared of her life, but we are also sad to lose her, a true matriarch of this family.
There are tragedies as well as uplifting joys and thrilling goals in any full life, so how does this play into a request for participation in a fund such as the Katy Warner Christmas fund? That is easy. Not only does the tragedy in Lakewood show us how tenuous life can be, but also how connected we are.
We know by our own lives and the people who have helped shape us, how important it is to be involved in one’s community.
None of us truly stand alone. Humans are social beings and it is incumbent upon each of us to take part in the warp and weave that makes up the fabric of our society.
I do not have a great deal to acknowledge today. The week following Thanksgiving is always a little lean, due to a couple of factors.
It also just flat out takes time to ramp up! Not just those of us on the asking end of things, but also on the giving side. Our lives are full.
We all have to polish off the last of the turkey, while no one in the family looks with favor at yet another meal of leftovers; the sheets all need laundering and we are out of detergent; and, darned if I didn’t forget to winterize the outdoor plumbing.
Nevertheless, I must not lose sight of my goal of enticing everyone to join in supporting our fund.
The format of the Christmas shop is the same as it has been in the past several years.
Gift certificates to on- and off-island merchants are provided for children 0-18 years old; book certificates to Eagle Harbor Books for children 0-11 years old; blanket sleepers for babies and toddlers; and then $20 per family member in food vouchers.
One change in the last couple of years was to give each child a $20 gift certificate, regardless of age. This change was necessitated due to decreased fund totals.
I have two donations to report, which are reflected in our opening fund total. $1,000 has been received from the Glaser Foundation, an annual donation that we greatly appreciate.
I was personally handed $40 in cash from one of my favorite people, the wonderful man who comes to make my appliances toe the line.
The latest was the refrigerator. Wow, replacing all of those spoiled items is a real wake-up call about how much money we spend on fundamentals.
Imagine if we didn’t have the wherewithal to replenish the milk supply? We are inordinately blessed in this community, to not only have plenty, but to be among those who share with those less able to provide.
Come on, let’s show other communities how it is done.
Christmas Fund begins with $1,040 in the jar
Join us by choosing from the following official donation locations: American Marine Bank in Winslow; The Bainbridge Review office at Sound Publishing on Day Road; Walt’s Lynwood Market; or, by mail to The Katy Warner Christmas Fund, PO Box 10354, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110. Thank you.
