Sunday, December 10, 2000

Christmas not bought and paid for

CHILDREN aren't the only ones with a Christmas wish list. But some folks' wishes can't be bought with money and placed under a tree.
   There are the folks at the Oveal Williams Senior Center, who want nothing else but for their beloved senior center director, Carrie Mae Floyd, to get well and return to work.
   Floyd became ill a few weeks ago and "things haven't been the same since," said 69-year-old Tommie LaRue, a retired nurse.
   Although the group is doing its best to carry on with holiday traditions and activities at the center, "as Carrie would want it," said LaRue, they all inevitably start their day there with the same questions: "Has anybody seen Carrie? Anybody heard when she's coming back?"
   For the past two weeks, the seniors have been mailing Floyd a steady stream of get-well cards, praying for her at the center and remembering her in their bedtime petitions.
   "She's a really fantastic person," LaRue said. "Her concern is always this center. Whenever there's a problem, she won't let go until she has exhausted everything in her power to resolve it.
   "The day she returns is the day we'll all be in smiles. All I want for Christmas is for Carrie to return."
   Time out for meditation
   All 26-year-old Gabriel Estrada wants this Dec. 25 is "not to miss the point of it all," said the credit union employee.
   Since mid-November, Estrada has been attending a 7 p.m. Bible study that continues every Monday through Dec. 18 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church. Estrada said he could think of no better gift to give himself this year.
   "It's easy to get lost in this busy, pushy atmosphere where the focus is to get, get, get to satisfy other people's expectations," Estrada said. "I didn't want to do that and miss the whole point of the season.
   "If there's one thing I've learned it's that the material things this world has to offer are not satisfying. My focus instead is on the manger. I want mine to be a more peaceful, joyful approach to experiencing the season."
   Baby on the way
   Shane Browning and his wife, Denise, are expecting their firstborn, a son, in February, and naturally, on the top of their wish list is a healthy child. But the papa-to-be says the baby, who coincided with their return to church, brought the two an unexpected Christmas miracle - a change of heart.
   "We contemplated never having kids," said Browning, an agricultural demonstration assistant with the county extension office.
   "But when we found out we were having a baby and heard his heartbeat for the first time, suddenly it wasn't 'what can I do for myself,' but 'what can I do for my child?'
   "All along we thought we had a plan, but God changed it for us. So here we are anxiously awaiting and hoping to welcome our son into our family.
   "What we got is a whole new perspective on life that has truly been a miracle."