Tonight, Monday 1 December, Borger's Christmas Parade was a family affair. Great-grandparents, Grand-parents, kids, grand-kids, great-grandkids.... it was fun. It was cold. It was a race for the candy. I remember going to Parades just to see the Parade. Now, the kids see how much candy they can collect and the entrants (floats) compete to see who can throw the best candy. We watched the Parade and then watched the kiddos race for the candy. 

While watching all the activities, I noticed just

down the street some teenagers sitting on the back of a pick-up and candy all over the street in front of them. I walked over to them and asked why they weren't picking up the candy, when all of a sudden, WHAT TO MY WANDERING EYES DID APPEAR?! A YORK PEPPERMINT PATTY! I love YORK PEPPERMINT PATTIES! I snatched it up and right beside it was a BIG TOOTSIE ROLL! Okay, not so big but not one of those little baby tootsie rolls. And those kids were just sitting there! The young folks said they were waiting for the Parade to end, then they were going to pick it all up. I said my boys would already have been picking it up.  I told them that if they really wanted to do something good for someone, I'd give them a bag and they could pick it all up for me to put in the boxes I'll send out this week to our Marines and Corpsmen in Iraq and Afghanistan. They asked what I did and I told them that since June I'd been sending boxes every week to deployed Marines. I gave them a bag and they cleared the street of "Float Candy" and it was heart-lifting to see them gather it all up for our HEROES and to hear their laughter and giggles while harvesting the candy from the street. 

I thought about my sons, and in the laughter of the children and teens around me, I heard their laughter and it brought back the memories of them running here and there to gather the parade treats and I wondered how many other mommas were thinking about their sons and daughters tonight while watching their own community's Christmas Celebrations. Watching those kids, those teenagers, gather that candy made this momma very happy with her memories of past Christmas Parades.

To Madison, Emma, Tate and Greg I can only say that from the bottom of this Momma's heart and on behalf of the Marines and Corpsmen who will receive this week's boxes, THANK YOU! You are SUPER and you will never know just how many hearts you made happy with your collection of "Float Candy"!

Merry Christmas and Thanks for the Memories Semper Fi,

Momma Jodi