The Spangler Elf

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is to serve as the Spangler Elf.

Bill, Shar, Shana, Stacia, Jared, and Tasha Spangler have been my California family for over a decade (!). And every year I receive the honor of serving as the family elf! It's a pretty simple task but one I truly love. This is when I get to take on the role of "Elf Maui" (they call me Maui, "Elf" is just for the holidays... I hope) which basically means that I deliver the news from the North Pole on who helps Santa fill the stockings of every family member for Christmas.

I love that I'm Elf Maui because it's another way the Spangler's have included me as a part of their immediate family. And that means a lot to me.

When I moved to California for college Stacia was one of the first people I met. I arrived early to school (with zero friends, literally) and Stashe came to my dorm room and invited me to join her and others for lunch. This meal has become the infamous lunch at Coogies that started it all. When we arrived at the restaurant I met Tasha and Shar (mom). Little did I know that this meal, my first in CA, was also the beginning of one of the most warm and loving friendships I'll ever encounter in my lifetime.

While on that day it was lunch, what followed has been years of family. Without fail every holiday in college I was a Spangler - Thanksgiving, Easter, everything - it wasn't a question, Maui was a part. After Pepperdine soccer games I joined the Spanglers for post-game meals. Once a week for our first two years of college Stacia hosted Tash and my "three course meal" - mochi crunch for appetizer, spam musubi was the main dish, and mochi for dessert. A tradition we continued when Tasha and I moved into our own campus apartment. (Yup,  believe it, spam once a week for four years of college. This is what champions are made of!) When I moved to LA for my current job it was Shana who took me in. I was looking for a place to live and her apartment-mate moved out the same month. Some might think it's coincidence, I know it's fate and family. And of course, there's Bill, who, among many other things he's done for me, has helped me navigate purchasing every car I've ever owned. I could continue - the blanket and booties they've knitted me, the family recipes that have become my favorite treats - everything I've done with the Spanglers has been a family affair.

So, this Christmas, a time of year where we surround ourselves with the love of family and friends, 365 Days of Service salutes the Spangler family. Bill, Shar, Shana, Stacia, Jared, and Tash, thanks for being the most loving family one could ever have. And, thanks to all the families out there who take someone in as one of their own.

Merry Christmas everyone!