I live in a very generous community. We have an ongoing collection for the local food pantry. For Veterans Day we had a collection for various personal items for our armed forces. Now, for Christmas, we have a collection for Toys for Tots.

Today I went shopping and thought I'd pick up a toy or two. While shopping and piling toys and books into my shopping cart, I realized (and this is not a nag to a certain relative who may be reading this) that I would be a wonderful grandmother. It would be great to hold and love a child, spoil him, give him everything and then send him home to his parents. I just love shopping for children whether it's clothes or toys.

I'm at that stage of my life where I don't have to worry about being laid off from a job or saving for an education. I have no responsibilities, just myself. It's good not to have those worries, it's too bad I wasn't so worry-free when I was raising my children.

Of the four children between my brother and me, there is only one grandchild. My niece thinks that probably her daughter will be the only one. So, I have decided that she is my "pretend grandchild". I wonder what she would like Santa to bring her.