Head over Heels into Dog Handling

Everywhere you turn, people on Forums, Blogs or in real life ask "What did you get for Christmas?" 

Well...what did I get for Christmas? 

My husband is deployed. My family lives in Germany. I did not receive a single material gift. Instead, today I went out and bought myself some Radios, Windikator, some Gloves and a LED MAG Flashlight for Search and Rescue. But it doesn't count as gift since I bought it myself. 

However, the day before Christmas I received three letters from my husband and on Christmas Eve, which is the important holiday in Germany, two friends of mine and I went on post to bring some Christmas Cheer to the ones on CQ, which to me, was a great gift because I did not have to spend it alone at home, with the dogs. Not that I would have minded to spend it with the dogs but at a day like Christmas Eve, I'd rather be amongst friends and have fun, not thinking about my husband being out there, wondering if he's okay. 

This is my friends (Chris's) dog Ronja. She is a 10 year old Malinois and a retired Police Dog certified as Therapy Dog. She's the most cuddliest dog I've ever met. At home, Nala crawls onto my lap an loves to snuggle but once you are out there, she prefers to tug and the Soldiers definitely had a blast tugging with her. 

 As a matter of fact, they had so much fun that she tugged one of them down the hallway in an office chair. 

If you want to read more about Chris's and her husbands tradition to go on post and visit those having CQ duty on Christmas eve, just go over to her blog and read her entry. She's got much better writing skills than I have. :)

Anyhow, so what did I get for Christmas? I wasn't alone, I was amongst friends, I had a blast, fun and we brought some cheers for others. Chris and her Husband passed out candy while some Soldiers had a blast tugging with Nala. Nala had the time of her life, doing what she loves to do the most. To tug. That was my Christmas Eve. No material gifts and I'm okay with that.

In fact it saddened me to see that others didn't like what they got. So ungrateful rotten little brats.  They should be thankful that their family is at home. That their parents cared and had enough money to get them a gift, even though I wouldn't be surprised if they only wanted to (unsuccesfully) shut them up.
These kids should be put to work so they learn what value means and how hard it is in this economy to earn money that pays for what they want.
They should spend some time and volunteer in a hospital with cancer patients to see what a great gift, being healthy, is. They call their mothers bitches and cunts and threaten their father with eight months of misery. Tell that to a sole survivor, a child that has nobody left in this world and wished he/she had a family. There are enough orphans in this world that would happily take over that "stupid family" of yours that got you a black i-pod instead of a white one, or that "only" got you a car but not the i-pad...

I just can't believe the greediness of todays generation... so again... what did you get for Christmas? And what is more important? A flippin I-pod or actually being with your loved ones and spending time together as a family?
My perspective has changed a long time ago. I've spend a lot of Christmases alon to know that the biggest gift of them all is to spend time with those you care about.