Here it is again - the season of giving. I've seen a few Christmas lists - if we all buy all of those things, we're sure to give the economy the boost it's been needing! Of course we all want to give the people we love the best of everything, and I can tell you for sure what all the experts agree is the BEST of everything, for every person on your list: your time and attention. That's right, the old standby "quality time." If she's a reader, take your elderly mother to the library and help her find something she really wants to read - then have a nice lunch and talk about books she read when she was your age. [You might bring along a handy little recorder, too.] Go fishing with your dad, or wander around an old car rally, or do whatever he likes to do. Take your kid to a local park, and swing with him. If he's teenaged, that's best done in the evening, when all of his cool friends might not see him. Ask your daughter to go shopping with you to help you pick out a "with-it" outfit. Take the time to read out loud to your little ones. Talk is cheap; you have to add the "do" to really get the message across that these people matter to you, more than any of that other stuff you're spending so much time on.
