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Rev. Thistlethwaite,

If only every family's problems were no greater than weird cranberry sauce. I took the day off work yesterday and decided go around and visit some family members one-on-one. I should have brought a notebook. They don't talk to each other, they talk to me then tell me not to say anything. Oh, so-and-so's not raising her kids right, so-and-so's drinking has really become a problem, etc. If they'd just talk to each other about these issues, out of love, things wouldn't be quite as uncomfortable as I'm anticipating they will be tomorrow. We all love each other, but tomorrow we have to pretend we like each other as well. I have one family member picked out to get alone and have a heart-to-heart with, I'm hoping the rest of my family does too. We're skipping my husband's family dinner altogether this year after being the subject of criticism. I guess the concept of family love and acceptance has gone out the window. I'll take weird cranberry sauce over this.

On another note, I wish more people would get into volunteering. During the holidays it's especially hard for those families who cannot provide dinner for Thanksgiving, or gifts for Christmas. I used to volunteer at a community center in a city near where I grew up. Every Christmas, we'd have a pancake breakfast with Santa for kids and their families. We'd also set up a "Santa's workshop" for the kids to go in and pick up some gifts for their families. Everything would cost about $.10 and we'd all have pockets full of dimes for them. The only thing left in that shop after all the kids had gone through was the table full of toys. They would spend their dimes on things like bubble bath for their mom, a small tool set for their dad, and the only toys they'd pick up were for their siblings if they had them. These were the most thoughtful and selfless kids I'd ever met. Who wouldn't want to help them? It really puts one's own family problems in perspective to see how these families, who have close to nothing, interact with each other.