2 GROUNDCOVER NEWS GROUNDCOVER Hear me out: This holiday season, forgive ANTHONY SMITH Groundcover contributor I’ll be home for Christmas … if only in my dreams. ‘Tis the season and I’m feeling bad. I miss my family and I want to be home. Don’t get me wrong, sleeping on the sidewalk is cool but it's nowhere near as good as spending time with the ones you love. This time of year is tough for many people, I know. I’m not the only one who has ever hurt at Christmastime. I’d take all the holiday weirdness and bear it stoically for everyone if I could, and I might spare a gentler soul the hurt I’ve known. If I could give my readers one piece of advice it would be this: FORGIVE. Say you are sorry even if you know you aren't wrong. It's okay to eat crow now and again if it means you can mend relationships with your family or whomever you love. Being right is not near as good as being loved! I wish I could take my own advice but I don't think it would help my situation. I don't have a big family so there are only a few people I would want to be with anyway. I’ll probably spend the day alone; maybe I'll have a few drinks and if the nog hits me right, who knows? If I had a wish that I could make for Christmas magic it would be a chance to spend Christmas like I did four years ago. I’d kept the flame burning with a beach bunny, Jessica, from Daytona that I’d met in college. My mom had cancer and I was worried I might never see her again. Jessica came up from DC and we tried to see my mom. I almost had it, the two most important people to me in one place! We couldn't find her so we drove all through Frankenmuth and Bronner’s. Jessica is a southern girl so she didn’t do snow very well. I had to teach her a few things so we would not wreck. It wasn't a traditional Christmas I guess. Even so, I had one of the best Christmases and I almost nailed it. Now, four years later, I only wish I could have that nearly perfect day again. The important thing is that you take the love within you and share it with the ones you love the most. But I digress. If I can give you one piece of advice, it's this, FORGIVE! Forgive and forgive some more. Say that you are sorry or whatever you must and mend those relationships; sometimes people will surprise you and will be overwhelmed by your largesse. This year fools are advising people to cut off family members for stuff like politics. This is so dumb! Forgive, forgive — and just to be sure, forgive some more. Saying sorry for some things even if you may not actually have done anything wrong can sometimes work wonders. Pass this advice on: FORGIVE AND POTENTIALLY BE FORGIVEN. A friend or someone you know needs to hear this. There is someone, somewhere who should humble themselves and say “I’m sorry.” I might not get to spend Christmas with my family, but if my advice trickles down to the one that needs it the most then I’ve done my bit. Keep holy this time of year and spread this idea. Because as they say, “to err is human, to FORGIVE is divine” and this is what the best holiday is all about. For a brief time a great man walked the earth and because his blood was shed we can all have hope to save our souls in this the best of all possible worlds. If you want to get me anything this year for Christmas, spread this simple idea. They may deserve lumps of coal, but you will give them love and the light that shines from behind your eyes will kill them with kindness and those who may have doubted you will possibly question their doubting. I know you can do it! Spread forgiveness and have patience with those who are difficult because we are not guaranteed tomorrow and today might be as good as it gets. MERRY CHRISTMAS, I LOVE YOU ALL. Scan the QR code to listen to my favorite Christmas song. :) DECEMBER 13, 2024 PROVIDING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR SELF-DETERMINED INDIVIDUALS IMPACTED BY POVERTY, PRODUCING A STREET NEWSPAPER THAT GIVES A PLATFORM TO UNDERREPRESENTED VOICES IN WASHTENAW COUNTY, PROMOTING AN ACTION TO BUILD A JUST, CARING AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETY. Groundcover News, a 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in April 2010 as a means to empower lowincome persons to make the transitions from homeless to housed, and from jobless to employed. Vendors purchase each copy of our regular editions of Groundcover News at our office for 50 cents. This money goes towards production costs. Vendors work selling the paper on the street for $2, keeping all income and tips from each sale. Street papers like Groundcover News exist in cities all over the United States, as well as in more than 40 other countries, in an effort to raise awareness of the plight of homeless people and combat the increase in poverty. 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