One of the things that I learned from adopting Michelle and Ickey is that there are no certainties in life. One day, you are living in a guard-gated golf course home with a family. The next, you are abandoned in the backyard. Scared. Hungry. And wondering where your family went.

At the same time, however, you learn the kindness of strangers. The neighbors next door would drop by with food and water. Sometimes they would bring a toy and clean up the feces in the backyard. But the most important part is that they came over to pet you and tell you that its okay — “this too will pass.”

For this Christmas, enjoy the moment and cherish life.