(This is the paragraph I’m refering to…
Why was I grateful for hearing about this? Because the first time (many years ago) THAT I HEARD of the original Secret Santa I truly felt like one of those people he helped. I was really broke and hadn’t started college and I was really struggling. I remember thinking, if only he had seen me (selfish but that was where I was at the time).

I’ve only lived in my city for a year and have few friends and no family around to help. It is so disheartening to need groceries or need my laundry done (laundry is in the basement) and have no one to help.

One thing I am grateful for is realizing how far I’ve come. I heard a man on TV that is reported to being a Secret Santa to those in need. He gives $100s away to people in laundry mats or thrift stores. Actually he is continuing the work of the original Secret Santa who recently died.

Why was I grateful for hearing about this? Because the first time (many years ago) of the original Secret Santa I truly felt like one of those people he helped. I was really broke and hadn’t started college and I was really struggling. I remember thinking, if only he had seen me (selfish but that was where I was at the time).

So, I heard it again tonight, and though I am in need for lots of things, I am not as needy as I was back then. I actually realized I was not one of the people he should help- if I was mobile I’d go out and find someone to give to- even if it was only a little.

I am grateful for graduating a year and half ago, the job I can go back to, for the small amount of money that is keeping me afloat during this time of not working and roof over my head.

Thanks for letting me share.
Joy

I had the pleasure of meeting both Dick & Rick Hoyt when they spoke at a conference I attended in October 2006 in Hawaii. The power of their message: Love and gratitude, and the power of saying “Yes I can”…and NEVER giving up.

That same evening they both attended the Black Tie Dinner….to see Rick in his Tuxedo…I’m not sure who was more proud…Dick, Rick…or all of us….to be witness to such magnificence.

Thanks for sharing your story. I confess to being reduced to a blabbering pile of tears every time I watch it, too. Probably, because I am a father, too.

Gives you pause to wonder if there is really anything that’s not possible.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks for sharing this! I heard of Team Hoyt shortly after my daughter suffered her brain injury at 18 months of age. The first time I saw the video of them I cried like a baby.

They are such an encouragement to me and my wife to keep going even in the toughest of times. People often ask us how we do it, and it is really simple. What other alternative do we have?

We could have just sat in the corner and cried and become bitter and angry people at the cards that we were dealt. But, we decided to take it one day at a time and deal with it.

Our daughter is now 7 and in second grade. Although she can’t talk or sit up on her own, we love her tremendously. Sure we would like her to be “typical” but the smiles and laughs that she gives us each day encourage us to keep going.

When you think you can’t get it any tougher, just keep in mind that there is someone out there that has it worse than you. Be grateful for both the good and bad times in your life, as the bad times make the good times better!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

My daughters site: http://www.natalie-update.org