Let It Be Known That This is My First Blog Post Ever

Unlike Diana, I do not have a favorite holiday. New Year’s, Valentine’s, the holidays you are off work, Easter, Birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and everything in between are all equally wonderful to me.

My family celebrated on every occasion because it was deemed important that family and friends get together to share stories, have fun, laugh, give gifts, take pictures, give hugs and kisses and genuinely show love for each other.

You see, for most of my life the only way my family could communicate was face to face. My grandparents on both sides were deaf, as well as my parents. There were no computers, video phones or cell phones to text. You could not call to wish someone a Happy Birthday or Thanksgiving. You physically had to be there in order to communicate through sign language.

Our celebrations would include food, games, and performances (singing, dancing and skits). These memories are gifts from times gone by that have become a tradition in my family to this day. I will admit my in-laws and children had reservations in the beginning about the whole performance thing, but they’ve come around. And I have lots of priceless videos to prove it!

That’s how I learned that the #1 gift is time. In this fast pace world of technology – where everything is done in microseconds – taking the time to be with family and friends, whether you are there in person or Facetiming on your phone, is simply the best gift EVER. There’s no better way to create precious memories!

My deaf family was always thankful and acknowledged God’s many blessings, especially the opportunity to help others. When Diana approached me about creating Sunburst Gifts and blogging about gift ideas, I was thrilled. I immediately said “YES!” even though I have never blogged in my life!

Thanksgiving is the holiday that emphasizes thankfulness so I want to give thanks for (1) the blessing of learning new things from my amazing and talented friend Diana, (2) our journey to provide you with meaningful gift ideas that come from the heart, and (3) YOU because you are actually reading what I’ve written! Because did I mention that I’ve never blogged before??

Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness – Richard Bach