Christmas List - Check....wait, what?

I received revised Christmas lists from my two youngest sons and they go something like this:

14 year old - X-Box games, X-Box Live Subscription, Microsoft Points and a few more X-Box games

18 year old - A list of 62 books (preferably hardover and leatherbound if possible) 

When I asked if either one of them might be interested in an electronic reader; i.e. Nook, Kindle, etc.  the youngest exclaimed "YES!" while the oldest grunted in disgust, "Uh, no, absolutely not.  I want real books."  I was filled with pride and admiration.  My distant, morose teenage son was taking a stand and asking for 62 classic works of literature in hardcover form and it was an amazing moment of pride!

As a longtime library and bookstore haunter, it was a momentous shift in the universe.  I haven't done a lot of things right, but this was a moment when I knew I HAD!

Carry on, life goes on and all that other crap

They keep harping on the television, radio, etc that today is "Black Saturday", so cheers to my friends of color.....just kidding, it's another attempt to make people buy more crap they don't need.  I've had 3 yard sales and I still have enough "stuff" around my house to set up several households.  It's all a marketing ploy to fill up the empty holes people have in their souls.  I'll keep my quiet time, my reading, my sappy holiday movies and keep what little money I have (which is not much) and hope that this season will be more focused on time spent together with my family and friends.

The Day After

Soooooo, it's the day after Thanksgiving and I'm one of those who declines to take part in Black Friday. As I age I find I dislike huge crowds of pushy people...wait, I NEVER likes huge crowds of pushy people. Being a former shopaholic, it seems so unlike me to NOT want to go shopping....but I have no desire to be out there with the throngs of huddled masses willing to stomp on each other to save $50.00 on something we don't need. The truth is we don't really NEED anything. There are things I would like to have, but have found that I don't need them. Spending time with friends and family are important. I wish all those years ago when the money wasn't as tight as it is now I had made the yearly family trip a priority. Memories of shared places and time together are vastly more important than the latest and greatest gadget.

Thanksgiving and really meaning it

I read on Facebook and Twitter all week about people posting what they're thankful for and I appreciate the effort. Wouldn't it be nice if people really meant what they said and lived it for a change?