A Successful Result

Day 68.
A Successful Result

For me, part of writing this blog has been trying to make a difference in both my own and other people's shopping habits by showing that there are plenty of ways to buy great American made products and support businesses and people here in the USA. However, from this side of the computer it's not always easy to see what impact has been made. I have to just have faith and believe that by simply putting the ideas out there that I have a chance to possibly reach someone (maybe you, the person reading this now) and make a difference regardless of whether or not I ever know how, when or why the difference happens. This is very much the same way I was reached and inspired to start this after reading a blog written by artist Sharon Knettell encouraging her readers to take action, which is what got me writing here in the first place. However, sometimes you get a glimpse into what kind of impact has been made by the ripples in the water and yesterday during my family's Christmas celebration I saw first hand the impact that this idea had. Awhile back I shared part of an e-mail my father sent me in response to this blog. He supports the idea of shopping American as well and, unbeknownst to me, passed this message along to my aunt who took this idea and ran with it. As a result, my aunt announced on Christmas morning that every gift she had brought to give was an item she had specifically chosen because it was made in the USA. She shared the experiences she had shopping including the frustration of how few American made items she found in certain department stores and being excited about the really cool items she found along the way. We also took note of the gifts given by other family members that were also made in the USA (we all love locally made chocolate turkey joints!) and we were all pleased to receive certificates honoring a donation she made in our names to a local charity we all care about, which supports the effort on a whole extra level. Thanks to her and to anyone out there reading this who may be moved to continue making a difference. I am so pleased to see a tangible result of the impact from writing this and really appreciate you for reading it...I've written a lot this morning, but a picture is worth a thousand words, so please enjoy seeing some of the results of our American made Christmas.