On a recent Saturday, I embarked on a special brunch cruise abord the Spirit of Charleston.  The event was for an organization called “Semper Fi & America’s Fund” and they are a fantastic group!  Everyone on the cruise was really so wonderful and it was all veterans and their families.  As I walked around the dining room, stopping at each table to say hello to the families, one little boy who was about 3 years old caught my attention.  He immediately reminded me of Hermie the Elf from the classic “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” Claymation film.  So, I said, “young man, if your ears were pointy, I would mistake you for an elf!”
 
Later, as I was sitting for pictures with the children and families, that same family came up.  They got some pictures and told me what they wanted for Christmas.  Hermie’s sister, who was only a year or two older than he was, was standing next to their mother.  She was frozen in place for a moment and the mother said, “Santa, this is Elaine and she wanted to tell you that her initials spelled ELF!”  I said, “they do?  Tell me, Elaine, what is your full name?”  She said, “Elaine Lilac Fitzsimmons!”  I said, “WOW!  Your initials really do spell ELF, don’t they?!?  And how are you today little Elf?”  She lit up but didn’t say anything.  Her mother said, “Santa, Elaine was wondering if she could be an honorary elf since her initials spell elf.”  I said, “well of course!  It could be no other way!  And not just any ole elf, a North Pole Elf!  Young lady, please step forward.”  She did and I gently placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Young Miss Elaine Lilac Fitzsimmons, I hereby proclaim that from this day forth and forevermore you, Elaine Lilac Fitzsimmons, are officially an honorary North Pole Elf.”  She lit up again!  I then said, “Now, with this you may officially call yourself Elf, but it comes with a great responsibility.  You must promise to try and keep the Christmas Spirit all year, every year.  Can you do that young Elf?”  She said, “I’ll try my best, Santa!”  I said, “that’s all we can ask for!  Then it’s official, young Miss Elf!”  She was so happy that her smile lit up the room and filled it with more Christmas Spirit than I could have ever done on my own!
 
Her mother told me that when I said that her younger brother looked like an elf, she whispered that she had to tell me her initials and that she actually likes to be called Elf as a nickname!  I told her mother that young Miss Elf certainly deserves the title as she is the embodiment of Christmas Spirit!

Recently I was invited to appear at a Christmas party held by a Charleston law firm.  Stephanie Brinkley of the Brinkley Law Firm (www.brinkleylawfirmllc.com) and Ellen Babb of the Babb Law Firm (www.babblawfirm.com) are family focused attorneys and friends.  Recently Stephanie asked her friend Ellen to handle a case for one of her church’s youth leaders and his young cousin.  The youth leader is in his early twenties and when he found out that his uncle had passed and his aunt was gravely ill, leaving his 14-year-old cousin with nowhere to go, he decided he had to do something. 

Rather than letting his 14-year-old go into the foster care system, he stepped up to take custody of this teenage boy.  He had reached out to the boy’s other family to ask for help, as he was having trouble providing for his cousin.  He begged for anything they could do to help; cash, a gift card, groceries, even just a few canned goods would help.  But he got nothing.  When Stephanie learned of this, she reached out to her good friend and that’s when Ellen Babb went to work.  Ellen was able to ensure that the boy would be able to visit his mother while she was sick and ensured his financial future by digging into his father’s background.  She discovered that the boy was entitled to certain benefits and that he was bequeathed a trust fund to help cover his financial needs.  Rather than letting this boy’s bright future be robbed from him, these two attorneys ensured that he will have every opportunity to have the bright future his parents dreamed he would have!
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Stephanie Brinkley and Ellen Babb are proof positive that even lawyers can work a little Christmas magic.  Ellen credits God as working through her, and that’s probably true, but maybe these two incredible women have a little of Santa’s magic in them, too!