I've said it before and I will say it again. There were plenty of Christmases that my family received

adonations from our church. My dad was one of the hardest working men that I know. He would work

three jobs sometimes even for to put food on the table. And yet despite his best efforts feeding five

children on one income without a college degree, well, it was really difficult. So much so that it was

common for people at church to even give my parents money or even our neighbors to put food on our

porch. We were fortunate to be loved and supported by so many people, specifically because the area in

which we grew up, it was not uncommon for a lot of people to struggle. So it was around Christmas time

and it was yet another year that we got gifts donated to us. And oftentimes other families in the

church would like adopt a family and then you would just get like almost like a dossier, right?

Two girls of the age of eight. What do average eight year olds like? And so we got things like

trapper keepers and socks and art supplies. And as cool as they were, as cool as they were,

they weren't exactly what you really wanted for Christmas, but you were still very thankful. And I

think myself and my siblings were really thankful because we actually had something to open for Christmas.

And I didn't want to forsake how big of a deal that was specifically because there were some kids

in the neighborhoods who didn't get Christmas gifts. I'll never forget we had a neighbor. She was

the girl we played with all the time. Lupita Guzman. Now Lupita came from a family of six kids and in

our family, we had five kids. And her dad worked just as hard as my dad worked multiple jobs and her

mom worked. But this particular Christmas, her dad had lost his job. And instead of Santa bringing

her brand new gifts, what she got was a pair of roller skates that actually belonged to her sister.

And so the family told her that Santa was regifting her gifts. And so on the Christmas morning,

when all the kids were taking what they got out, their new toys and gifts and we're out there on

the street. Well, Lupita, Lupita rode her straight. I was starting to get, Lupita,

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