At least I think my son gets it...

 I have to admit that I am a bit bothered by the rush into Christmas this year. It started the day after Halloween. The day after Thanksgiving used to feel a bit early to me, but I could handle it. This is ridiculous. Several local radio stations started their 24/7 Christmas music at midnight on November 1st. Seriously.

Before you call me a grinch, let me explain why this bothers me so much. It's not just the fact that you can't set foot in any of the stores because of the crowds. It's not just the constant ads for Christmas toys that are on all hours of the day and night. It's not just the fact that there are a limited number of Christmas carols, so stations that normally play top ten artists are forced to reach for the Barry Manilow Holiday Album and play it five times a day.

It's the fact that we seem to have skipped right over the two holidays that MEAN anything and jumped right from one gimme holiday to another. You know what I mean, right? We went from the "gimme candy" holiday to the "gimme presents" holiday. Apparently we as a society don't have time for the "thanks for serving our country" holiday or the "thanks for all our blessings" holiday.

Veteran's Day hardly got a mention this year other than a few sales at the local department stores. That is incredibly sad, especially in a time when we are at war. Whether you agree with the war or not, the men and women who fought and are fighting deserve our admiration and our thanks every day, but especially on Veteran's Day. My husband even pointed out a story about a few local schools who were bringing in conscientious objectors to speak to the students on Veteran's Day. Give me a break. When I arrived at one of my middle schools for an observation, I was thrilled to find an old-fashioned Veteran's Day assembly in full swing, complete with Veterans in uniform, teary-eyed teachers, and respectful students lined up to shake their hands and say thank you.

Maybe all is not lost. I went to pick up Little J from pre-school yesterday and noticed that the teachers had posted a sign of what each child had said they were thankful for. Pets, loveys, and favorite toys all had places of honor on the list. I searched the list for Little J's response and saw two words that warmed my heart: my mommy.