The Holidays… gratifying or a groan? | AZVHV
Bill Salvatore, Realty Executives East Valley with Jessica of the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, Adopt-a-Senior program
The Holidays… gratifying or a groan?
Decorating the yard for Christmas in shorts and sandals is nothing less than awesome but it does very little for your holiday spirit. Don’t get me wrong. I do not miss schlepping through a foot of snow with a frigid metal ladder over my shoulder only to dangle from the icy railing and attach a half-lit string of lights. Assuming your limited patience overpowers your economic good sense and you throw out all the tangled ones, putting up Christmas lights in
Arizona is virtually hassle-free. Scaring up an appropriate mood for the holiday season takes a bit more effort.
So every year we try to do something Christmasy right after Thanksgiving. Sometimes we take in the local talent at the Botanical Garden during their annual Luminaria. The Zoo puts on possibly the coolest ever Zoo Lights display. There’s a peculiar but somehow exquisite tumbleweed tree in the center of Chandler, and the dazzle of Main Street in Mesa, and Glendale Glitters are not to be missed. But we’ve discovered the thing that does our hearts the most good during the holiday season is passing the spirit on to someone else.
The wonderful people at Gilbert’s Chamber of Commerce have imagined a brilliant project they call Adopt a Senior. Every November they collect a short wish list from each of their Meals-on-Wheels participants, and distribute the lists to anyone who requests them. This is satisfying in more ways than one. My wife welcomes yet another compelling reason to shop, and it kicks off the holiday season with just the right sentiment.
My point is this. Do something nice this year for someone you don’t know. It doesn’t need to cost a lot… a dollar in a few Salvation Army kettles, or a box of supplies for the local food pantry goes a very long way, and brings a lot of meaning to something that can easily become reduced to the annoyance of hanging lights.
Realty Executives East Valley is an Independently Owned and Operated subsidiary of Realty Executives International, offering a complete range of real estate services to the entire Phoenix Valley Area. Bill Salvatore is owner/partner of Realty Executives East Valley, Founder of Arizona Veterans Helping Veterans (AZVHV), and President of the Phoenix Chapter of Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals (VAREP).
Bill Salvatore, Realtor/Owner/Veteran
Realty Executives East Valley
1166 E Warner Road, Gilbert AZ 85296
602-999-0952
