Ben. Again.

Monday

Dec202021

It's time for a history lesson, kids. Let's jump in our wayback machine and review this post from December 2011 - ten years ago.

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I've heard that it pretty much sucks to have a December birthday. To that I say, "Waaaaah. Waaaaah. Waaaaah," because January is just like December except without the sparkly stuff and cheer. Us January babies still end up with combined birthday and Christmas gifts, after all.

I digress.

This isn't about whining about birthdays being lame. It's about how sometimes people make birthdays magical.

This is Benjamin.

Benjamin is a December baby. Except, you know, he's not really a baby anymore. In fact, he *just* turned 8 years old. And that basket full of games he's sitting next to? Those are his birthday presents.

Well, not really.

But sort of.

Benjamin's mom contacted me about a month ago to ask if there was a way that Benjamin could donate his birthday presents to Christmas Crazy.

Hold on. Let me repeat that. Benjamin wanted to donate his birthday presents to Christmas Crazy.

So, that's what he did. He asked his friends to bring a toy he could donate instead of collecting as many gifts for himself as he could when he had a birthday party last week. His friends came through by showing up with what I would guess is about $300 worth of toys and games.

I got to meet Benjamin and his mom and little brother on Friday because they wanted to deliver that pile of toys to Womansplace. They wanted to see a difference being made. They wanted to give.

So, that's what they did. Instead of complaining about gifts being combined or his birthday getting overlooked in the holiday rush, Benjamin happily hauled a bunch of toys to Womansplace so that kids who wouldn't otherwise get a gift for Christmas can find a little joy under the tree next week. Then he stood in the middle of a giant pile of toys and helped us sort them in between moments of running around and playing and generally being a really happy little man.

Benjamin, you are amazing. Thank you for your generosity and awesomeness and for putting up with my requests for a zillion photographs of you. And thanks for being you.

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And back to the present. This is Ben now.

Feel old yet? Hahahalololsob. Me, too.

ANYWAY. Ben is now 18 years old and is going to be graduating from high school this year. (Ain't time grand?) So much has changed as the years have gone by (Womansplace has changed its name to Center for Victims, for example), but one thing has not. Ben has over-and-over again dedicated his birthday to making sure Christmas Crazy is a success.

The magic came together again this year, this time in the form of boxes and bags and enough stuff to fill the back of my Nissan Rogue.

Good job, Ben. Thanks for being the best year after year and thanks for making sure kids who maybe didn't have the best of days along the way get to have at least one good day around the holidays.