- November 15, 2024
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To celebrate our wedding anniversary — and just because I’m a romantic kind of guy — I bought a present for my wife, Hailey.
“Do you want me to wrap it?” I asked.
She knows me very well, so she said not to bother.
I draped a picnic blanket over the gift, but, before the unveiling, sensing that a teaching moment was in the works, I assembled my children — two sons and two daughters — to the living room so that they could watch their mother “open” the present.
I started out, as I am wont to do, with a speech.
“Today is an important day for all of us,” I said. “On this day, 13 years ago, your mother and I were married, and so, our family officially began.”
My oldest son, Jackson, 11, interrupted me. “Sorry,” he said, as he ran to the kitchen and back. He had to pause his timer so that this sacred moment didn’t count against his video game time.
I continued: “I wanted you all to be here to watch Mom open her presents so that you could know how much I love her.”
Grant, 9, in an obnoxiously loud whisper, said, “This is getting awkward.”
“And,” I said, undeterred, “so that you will someday love your families just as much. I am very thankful for all of you."
Happy Thanksgiving, Palm Coast! May your holiday be memorable, and may we all learn to love each other more perfectly.
Almost every day, I get an email about inspiring groups who are doing great things in our community. Thanks to everyone who is working to make this a great place to live.
One of these groups is the K-Kids and Builder’s Club at Imagine School at Town Center, who collected food and passed out flyers on Nov. 19, at the new Island Walk Publix, helping to provide Thanksgiving meals for the struggling families at Imagine School at Town Center.
The goal was to raise $100 in funds and one cart full of groceries, and they reached it and more, collecting three carts full of food, nine turkeys and over $400 in cash and Publix gift cards.
The students also donated $200 to Imagine School and Town Center’s Bountiful Backpacks program, which sends food home over the weekend for less fortunate families.
