Christmas time is here . . .

Explain to me why normally sane people do this to themselves?

Not content to give the ones you love something nice for Christmas, we beat ourselves into a froth trying to find Nirvana - the PERFECT Christmas gift ! (note the nice mixture of religious traditions there - and you thought I was dumb!)

Endless pacing down miles and miles of store aisles searching through "nice but not good enough" items that on any other day would have been delightful offerings to the people who mean the most to us.

But face it. You cannot personally stand to think that the beat in your heart, the twinkle in your eye and the very breath in your lungs will be stilled by the dreaded words 'What's this for?'.

As if those aren't bad enough, the sequel is even worse . . . 'I already have one of these. I bought it LAST WEEK.'

Clairvoyance should be offered with the candy canes this holiday season.

That, or a family sized bottle of 'Milk of Amnesia' that renders stupid remarks like that inert.

I was once given a sweater that for the life of me I would never have bought for myself, my personal love affair for Holsteins notwithstanding. Everyone was poised on 'go' to see my reaction for their gag gift.

Frankly, it was hilarity! That they remembered my passion for all things bovine with such a truly tacky sweater made it beautiful that day.

I loved the look on one lady's face at church. You do know you HAVE to wear you new clothes to church, right? (where were you raised? did wolves handle the job? PUT ON THOSE CLOTHES!)

So, this sweater, paired up with a smart and classy black skirt looked pretty good to the cow eyes in the room. I had on my cowboy boots too, so I was good to go.

I loved it so much, that I wore the sweater until it rotted. And I was sad to see it go. It had become a symbol of what Christmas is all about - giving someone a GIFT OF LOVE, not perfection.

Remember the story of the Littlest Angel . . .?

He was certainly no angel in the interpretation of impatient hosts of heaven. But he was most certainly an angel of great magnitude and generosity in the sight of God. And why? Because this little angel totally grasped the concept that when we give something with all of the love in our heart, whatever we have given is rendered beautiful and perfection becomes the gift that comes in due time as our memories recall the love that has been extended to us in the gift itself and from the giver.

So, I would like to offer a remedy that falls somewhere between the two extremes of beginning Christmas shopping before the paper from this year's gifts hits the floor and doing it all at the Wavaho Truck Stop and Gas Plaza in 5 minutes on Christmas Eve. . .


Shop for what LOVE leads you to instead of commercialism, fear and panic.

It just might make it the best Christmas ever!