Can you believe it? Christmas is only a few weeks away!!!

I started my Christmas shopping a few months ago so I feel like I am ahead of the game. This year, I tried a different gift strategy with my kids. When it came to picking out their gifts, I took them shopping with me. They should be 100% pleased with what is under the tree this year and just in case they change their minds on any of the items before I wrap them, they have the opportunity to exchange BEFORE Christmas. The anticipation seems greater, even though both of them know what they are getting. The torment of having the stuff somewhere in the house and not being able to touch any of it is killing them.

My kids are asking me for my list and it's hard to think of ideas on demand. All year long, I come across great gift ideas for myself but for some reason, I'm at a loss. Most of the things I want are either too expensive or they are items I would like to pick out myself. Maybe I should use my new gift strategy on myself!

Eventually, I'll come up with a list of well-deserved items. When my kids ask their Dad to take them Christmas shopping for me, they'll be well-informed little shoppers, brainwashed by me, to spend lots of Daddy's hard-earned money.

But what makes me think I should get everything my little heart desires? Well, for the most part, I have been a good girl. I haven't been naughty very much this year and truly thought of others before myself. Basically, I've been perfect in every way. Don't you think I should get everything on my list?

How about you? Please explain why you think YOU should be spoiled this year . . . everything on your list, wrapped and under the tree.

SWEET DREAMS by Nathan James

I'd like to think of myself as one who has many vivid and colorful dreams, not to mention, very random and nonsensical ones as well. What our minds tend to muster up in the late hours of the night can be some of the most ridiculous and crazy scenarios imaginable.

Of course, people have different mindsets, ideas, points of view, and other related mental articles, which give each person different types of dreams; whether it be the people involved in the dream, the setting, atmosphere or appearance. I’ve found some of mine to be very colorful and lustrous (even though I hear that we dream in black and white, I will continuously argue that this statement is fiction.)

Dreaming doesn’t usually occur in the deeper stages of sleep, but rather in the first few stages. We do our dreaming generally in the state of lighter sleeping. Also, if you didn’t already know, it only takes about 10% of your brain to create a dream for nighty-night time.

But aside from all of those monotonous facts, I’d like to hear some of your sweet dreams. Whether they are embarrassing, silly, nightmarish, realistic, or story-like, please share them. I might share a few of mine too, in response to yours. So, what kind of dreams do YOU have?

THE PERFECT MEAL

It's getting closer. The anticipation is building. Soon, the smell of turkey roasting in the oven, along with dressing and pies, will fill millions of homes all over the United States.

As far back as I can remember, I woke up with these same distinctive aromas wafting past my nose, as well as the sound of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade coming from the family room TV. No one was necessarily watching it, but it was on all the same. Sleeping late meant no school, and if we were lucky, it would snow hard enough over the weekend to justify the school board calling for a snow day, giving us a few extra days off.

One of my favorite things to do was look through the Sears Christmas Wish Book and circle everything on my list. This would not be complete without holiday music in the background. Dad had a reel-to reel tape deck in which he had recorded Christmas songs from the radio. These same tapes were played year after year and each time, the familiar renditions would add another layer of memories. If we begged Dad long enough, he might even get the decorations out of the garage. When the ornaments were unpacked, I would gaze at my favorites, as if I were looking at them for the very first time.

Mom always planned to eat around 2:00 Pm, but Tom Turkey didn't make his golden debut until he was ready. The table was set by my sisters and I, everything in its place. Often times, I was given the job of making place cards . . . home made, of course. As the family grew larger and larger, this task took longer and longer. On occasion, we had a special guest join us for dinner . . . someone who needed a home for the holiday.

Then came the long-awaited two words, "Dinner's ready!" Just when we thought it was time to eat, my parents would gather us in a circle and while holding hands, we would take a minute to go around, one at a time, telling what we were thankful for. Although my stomach was empty, my heart was full of the many blessings God gave us as a family. I was overflowing with gratitude.

But that wasn't all that overflowed. When the prayer was over, the abundance of blessings on the table overflowed my plate. Here is what my plate looked like: a few slices of Mom's perfect turkey next to her AMAZING giblet stuffing (a double portion at least,) then corn, green bean casserole, home made mashed potato's and gravy, along with two cranberry sauces and possibly a roll. Since my son married, the North finally met the South and we now have the addition of Sweet Potato Casserole, courtesy of my daughter-in-law, Angela.

All's well that ends well and I am proud to say that I am the official pie maker in this family. I always bake at least four pies: Dutch Apple, Chocolate Pecan, Pumpkin and French Silk Chocolate Pie. (Don't forget the whipped Cream.)

After the last dish is washed, the women folk take their traditional walk in the neighborhood to ease the pain of overeating or maybe just get out of the kitchen. Yet, there is one last important ingredient left to mention.

When I was a child, we went as a family to view the Christmas window display at a popular department store in the town where I grew up. To carry on this tradition, we now go to Kuhn Flowers on Thanksgiving night, to see their widows. Although someone in my family always feels the need to express disapproval to this long standing ritual, they graciously appease me by honoring my request.

As the years go by, family dynamics have shifted and changed. This year, a nucleus of us will be trying Thanksgiving around the campfire. I am looking forward to creative variations of the traditions I hold so dear, adding another layer of memories. But I have learned something about this perfect meal . . . it's not where you are or what you put on your plate, its who you are with and what you have in your heart that counts.

What's your idea of the perfect meal?

THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT WAS IN MY DAY!

I heard this growing up and continue to hear it today.

I am very blessed to have my parents still living. My father was born in 1923 and my mother in 1930. When I look at those numbers, my brain freezes. What was it like to live back then? The only thing this generation can wrap it's mind around is the here and the now.

Listening to my parents speak of a simpler life makes me long for more innocent days of old. When my mother craved peaches, she didn't go to the grocery store; she went down to the cellar and grabbed a quart-size Mason jar which her mother canned. Her mothers washing machine was a wringer washer and all the laundry was dried outside on clothes lines. Telephone numbers were shared by neighbors who could interrupt your call at any time.

My dad didn't wear a back pack to school but carried his books in a stack, tied together with string or an old shoelace. When my dad's generation needed money, they got on a bike and delivered the daily paper. Because there was no television or video games, kids actually gathered on safe streets to play tag, capture the stick, marbles or jacks. If Dad could get enough friends together, they would play a neighborhood game of ball that lasted until dusk. Then the family would gather around the radio for evening entertainment.

Don't think that a simpler life was an easier one. The Great Depression took it's toll and many fathers lost their jobs, filing into breadlines to keep their families from starving. If you managed to have a job, you worked hard to keep it. Money was scarce and the economy suffered a very devastating blow. Just as our nation was recovering from the crash, WWII became the focus.

My folks survived the Depression as well as the war and still live to tell about days such as these. They are now enjoying so many modern conveniences that help make their lives easier. On occasion, my dad will even say, "If my mother could see this, she would roll over in her grave!"

But from then to now, everything is different; nothing is the same. We get more done in a minute than they could have gotten done in several hours or even days. One thing that frustrates my parents is the speed at which things change. Just when my mom learned how to navigate her present operating system, Windows came out with a new one. My dad loves his iPod but hasn't figured out how to update his play list. Replacing an old cell phone with a newer version is completely mind-boggling. They feel as though they can't keep up. Technology is in absolute hyperspace! While my brain is accustomed to processing at the speed of light; they are dizzy from breathing my fumes.

Have you ever stopped to consider what our existence will look like in 25 years? Will we be able to keep up with the information age? Life as we know it is going to be completely different. When someone says, "That's not the way it was in my day," they'll actually be referring to yesterday!

Speculate, for a minute, how things might change from this generation to the next.

Let me hear your thoughts.