Without going into gory detail, I am currently suffering from a malady that has stricken men for eons and fate chose to strike at me with full fury. There is no medicine, there is no treatment, there is only the hope that it will run its course as soon as possible Unfortunately, for me that looks to be years away...what malady could I possibly be referring to?

I have a beautiful 15-year old daughter whom I love dearly but vehemently denies Copernicus and his Heliocentric Model because she SWEARS the Earth revolves around herself. It is quite a common occurrence to hear her say "Well this one has that, and that one has this, and you should SEE the house this one lives in! OMG!!!"

In an attempt to knock her down a few pegs, my wife came up with a simply brilliant idea. A local woman in our neighborhood posted on Facebook that she was participating in the Adopt-A-Family program this holiday season and she was looking for volunteers to deliver the gifts to the families she was sponsoring. They are spread out all over New Jersey (not a huge state BUT traffic is murder <wink>).

So we volunteered. And we took the kids. It was our way of getting 2 points across to her:

#1 - be damn thankful for the things you have, because just as you look at this one and that one and covet what she has, there are millions of people out there that feel the same way about you.

#2 - Christmas is a time of giving. And donating a day of your time to help other people out is a noble effort.

The result? She b****ed and moaned for the first 2 houses. By the 3rd house, she felt genuinely happy that she was helping people and asked what other volunteering options are out there.

Next month, she and I are volunteering at a local soup kitchen. By her request.

If you have an opportunity this Holiday season to do unto others, please do. If not, make an opportunity.

Wishing you all the very best this Holiday Season!