Dog Food.

In our home, my husband does most of cooking - not because I can't cook, but because he's the better cook. Tonight however, he informed me that he was boycotting the kitchen. No problem. I can do throw-down meals with the best of them. Honing in on last night's leftover roast chicken, I decided to make chicken salad. Here's the deal. As I began to debone the remaining chicken, I realized that most of it had already been used . . . as a treat for our two dogs. When I mentioned that there might not be enough to make chicken salad, my husband jokingly told me he'd take some from the dogs' bowl because they weren't eating it anyway. Dog food.

As we sat with our tv trays in front of the television, WFAA out of Dallas ran a story about a young girl who, when asked by her teacher to make a Christmas wish list, asked for food and a blanket, neither of which she had at home, giving priority to the blanket because she said, "I can get food at school." Did I mention that my dogs ate chicken tonight?

This stuff goes on every minute of every day, in every town. Even ours. If the spirit of the season moves you, consider donating your time, talents, and/or funds to any of the local non-profits in Athens that will make certain your contributions aren't wasted. Places like the Henderson County Food Pantry could use holiday hams for their clients. The Agape Quilt Project is helping to provide sleeping bags to those who don't have a cozy bed to sleep in at night. The Athens Soup Kitchen and The Rebecca Project could use your help in distributing food to those in need. It's easy to help. Just click on the GET CONNECTED button on each organization page of this website.

The next time you cook dinner in your cozy home, consider the needs of those around us who deserve more than dog food - every day.