For most of my adult working life, New Years Eve was just one more banquet or buffet to cook... and in time to organize. To this day, the biggest treat I can have for New Years Eve is to be at liberty to stay home or visit friends. After years of being one of the few sober people in the room, going out and painting the town on New Years Eve holds all the appeal of babysitting any toddler who is not my grandaughter.
For my parents, the flip side of being such a wonderful couple was how very tough it was for my Mom to soldier on for seven years after we lost Dad. After forty five years of that, it would have been unrealistic to expect Mom to celebrate New Years Eve in high style.
My folks had always been charitable, giving what they could, when they could. After Dad passed, it became one of Mom's little projects to make sure that the balance sheet of giving was always carefully weighted to minimize her income tax. New Years Eve became her time to quietly celebrate both the good feeling of having done well and the satisfaction of knowing she would receive enough of an income tax refund to pay her property taxes : )
I am fifty four years old... so I have discovered that time really does fly by more quickly as one gets older. Just the other day I was sitting at my daughter's table having a lovely New Years Day Dinner and suddenly 2008 is nearly over.
For those who were meaning to donate something to any cause dear to their heart, New Years Eve day is the last day to do so if one plans on using it to help with this year's taxes.
For those thinking of helping the animals in this province in any way, in no particular order:
- ARC
- S.H.A.I.D.
- CAPS
- LA Animal Shelter
- Bide Awhile
- TLC Animal Shelter
- Pick of the Litter
- Hope for Wildlife
- P.E.T. PROJECTS
- NS Labrador Rescue
- Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada HomePage
- Tiny Paws NS Chapter
- CBFSS
- and last, but definitely not least, go to http://www.spcans.ca/ to either support the provincial SPCA or to http://www.spcans.ca/who_we_are/Branches.html to link to their Branch sites.
I apologize in advance if I have somehow missed listing any NS group that does have a tax number. Normally anyone with a tax number is quick to mention it on their website, as well as listing whether there is a minimum donation required for a receipt.
Rescues may be built on love for the animals, but donations are the 'gas' that will keep them running and enable them to save more animals. This is just one of those rare times when folks can do something good for themselves and do something good for the animals all in one shot. In my books, that's worth celebrating.
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