There’s always something to howl about.

Christmas and Natasha – only in America

2009 has changed me. It has been a year of struggle, victory, and in the end… of complete thankfulness for all of the good things that I have in life. Living in America is one of those good things. Living with a family that loves me unconditionally is another. One of the lessons that I learned from this last year was to redouble my efforts to pay it forward and to give back.

I received an email last Sunday night from my friend Nancy Schafer that her efforts to host a child from an orphanage in the Ukraine had paid off and that 11 year old Natasha would be flying here on the 16th of December for an 18 day stay and hopefully to find an adoptive home here in the USA.

My mind raced back to my own family and then directly back to Greg’s Ramblin Gamblin Willy story about Anastasia. I am not a guy that likes Latin much and this to date was my favorite post that Greg has written. If you have not read it yet, please do. If you have, it is worth another read.

“Do your worst. I will not kneel.” has become a mantra that has stayed with me. And now when I thought of an 11 year old flying over 24 hours straight with no parents to meet an unknown person (as great and kind as I know Nancy is, she is an unknown to Natasha) I knew that I must try to help out in my own small way to make her stay here more enjoyable and hopefully help raise enough awareness so that she might enjoy the blessings that I have:

Living with a family that loves her.
Living in a free country.
Being free from the restraints of a caste system so that her dreams can in fact become a reality.

For those who may not think that America is truly the land of opportunity, I would simply contend that we build fences to keep people out while others build those same fences to keep people in. People are dying to get INTO our ‘hood. We are all immigrants.

When I see a chance for a child to have a better life here, it inspires me to take action.

That night I bought a domain and put up a blog. NatashasVisit.com It is a small effort, but my way of trying to help out.

What is needed here is not money. It is awareness. And it is a few kind words from friends all over America on a “welcome to America” card so that an 11 year old knows she is loved.. If you could help me with the following (since Natasha arrived last night), I would consider it a personal favor:

1. Drop by the blog and go to the “Sign Natasha’s card” page and drop her a note, welcoming her to America. (You will be sent a confirmation email to make sure you are not a spammer. They are immediately deleted by me and not given out to anyone.)

2. Please pass the word along via social media, blogs, or whatever. The more people hear about her, the better the odds of her being adopted. And that is the goal.

3. Take a second to view the video of her singing with a couple of friends in the orphanage in the Ukraine. She is the one on the right. It will make you hug your kids tighter and hopefully make this Christmas a brighter and happier holiday. It has for me.

Thanks in advance for the help with this if you can. Merry Christmas to each and every one of you.