LYNN – Charles Dickens once wrote “it was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” However, some people in today’s world might have a little trouble finding a “best.”Nobody needs a primer on how trying a year this has been economically. Even those fortunate enough to have jobs, and to be able to afford some recreational spending, have had to cut way back. Everywhere you look, people are making do with less.Christina, a mother with two sons, ages 6 and 4, understands these realities.”One day,” she writes, “my children will grow older and reflect back on this time in history and see that they went through a recession in the U.S. while in their youth.”But at ages 6 and 4, she feels her two boys are much too young to understand the conditions that force their mother to make hard choices about how to spend their money.”I try so hard,” she writes, “so that they don’t know that we, too, are being affected by these hard times.”Like many parents, she worries as the holiday approaches that she’ll have to make more adjustments and sacrifices as she tries to adapt to the difficult economy.But, she writes, “I would really dislike one of those sacrifices to be the happiness of my children on Christmas Day as they wait for presents that will not arrive.”This has led Christina, and thousands like her, to seek the help of Item Santa, now in its 43rd year of existence.As we filter through (and perhaps even ignore) all the Christmas ads and jingles on television, let’s reflect on the fact that to families such as Christina’s, “presents that will not arrive” aren’t electronic video games, hand-held computers, or other toys that seem to be more expensive, and sophisticated. We’re talking about clothes, gloves, hats, or perhaps a warm blanket to get the boys through another cold winter in an apartment that may be minimally heated.In another Dickens quote, from another – more holiday-relevant – story, the author talks about “the surplus population.” It’s easy to look past “the surplus population” as we wend our way through life, absorbed in our own situations. His point, though, was there is no surplus population. There are only human beings ? and many of them are less fortunate than we are.Whatever you choose to donate to the Item Santa, it will make a difference. Every little bit helps.Click here to make a donation to Item Santa.”I am very appreciative of the assistance your organization has offered in the past, and hope you help make this a joyous Christmas year for my family as well. Thanks in advance for your help, and God bless.”