Sammy's Christmas List by Lillianna Blake

Chapter 1

    I stared at the calendar on my screen. Wasn’t it only a few days ago that I’d made plans to accomplish certain things before the new year? I’d made the plan in August, and yet here it was two days before Christmas, and I’d done nothing to reach those goals.
    The first goal was to get a short inspirational story I was working on completed. In the span of a few months, I’d completed two or three pages when what I needed was at least ten. The next goal was to try a brand new sport, which I’d not even chosen.
    Then there was the intention to be more social with others. I found myself holed away more and more as I focused on my writing. It was easy to let days go by without doing anything other than texting with Max or sharing a phone call with a friend. I needed more activity than that.
    And as always, I’d added a goal to my list that involved trying new food, as I liked to expand my food experiences.
    As the months turned into weeks, I’d taken to calling my goals list my Christmas list, determined to accomplish everything before the holiday arrived. But my Christmas wish list was sadly quite neglected. Everything on it remained unchecked, even as carols were being sung and Christmas lights were hung.  
    “Where did the time go?” I frowned and closed the calendar. It made me a little sick to my stomach to think that it was too late to change things. But was it? “Maybe I can still do a few things on my list.”
    I picked up my phone and started to dial Max for ideas, then I remembered that he was out of town for the holidays. I hung up before the call could go through.
    No, there wasn’t anyone for me to turn to for motivation. If I wanted to do the things I set out to do, I needed to look inside for the motivation.
    “Okay, I can give up and say maybe next year, or I can get as much done as I can before New Year’s.” I took a deep breath and decided that I was going to do my best to get it all done.
    The best part about the Internet was being able to find everything I could dream of with a simple search. In just a few minutes I’d found a ski lesson I could sign up for. I went ahead and paid for three lessons—the introduction for beginners. Maybe I wouldn’t be leaping off mountain slopes, but I’d have enough of a grasp that if I ever traveled in the future I could ski with confidence.
    I intended to explore the world the first chance I got. As I filled in the online registration form, I noticed that I had to sign a waiver that released the ski resort and instructor from any liability due to injury. That made me a little nervous, but I plunked in my credit card number anyway. Within minutes I had a class scheduled for the very next day. I was excited to get out there and try something new.
    After signing up for the ski lessons, I searched for opportunities to join seasonal festivities. I discovered that my neighborhood hosted a community Secret Santa. All I had to do was go to the main library and sign up. That sounded perfect to me.
    As I was perusing a few shopping websites for the perfect Secret Santa gift it occurred to me that, though I’d ticked off several items on my bucket list throughout the year, I’d not really given anything back. Christmas was the time of giving, but that came in more forms than just wrapped gifts or baked cookies. I decided it was time that I volunteered for something and gave back to my community.
    I did a quick search for volunteer opportunities in the area. There was a group of volunteer carolers to sing at a retirement home. My singing voice was not exactly a sound that most people enjoyed. I could show up at the soup kitchen to distribute holiday meals, but I was a little worried that the pumpkin pie might tempt me to the point that there wouldn’t be any left to distribute. I   came across a cheerful website full of smiling children.  
    “Do you want to bring cheer into the lives of impoverished children?  
    “Are you looking for a way to