Christmas is over, and I was cleaning off my desktop. Somebody decided to put a picture of my four kids and one of their friends posing with Goofy at Disneyland on my main screen, so it's really hard to figure out what all of those documents and folders are, making my life feel even more cluttered than usual. So there I was, cleaning up my desktop, and I came across "Mom's Christmas List.docx". I wrote it in response to my kids' lists. See, this year, I decided that we would have an experience (Camping in our Airstream by Disneyland) instead of LOOT. The middle two kids were devastated when they heard the plan. I also told everyone that I was no longer accepting Christmas lists. Did they insist on trying to hand me these compositions of greed (or hope, if you're feeling generous)? Yes they did! So I composed one myself. Then I sent it to my 20 year-old daughter at college. She passed it on to her friends. Apparently, it was funny to them, but I meant it. Here it is:

MOM'S CHRISTMAS LIST 2011

ONE volunteer HELPER EVERY DAY for any task, no matter how small

TWO hugs, UNREQUESTED, per week

THREE animals fed, as they like it, whenever

FOUR counters wiped per week

FIVE smiles per week, for no reason

SIX shoes put away where they belong, now and then

SEVEN half-days of minor help per month, no pay, when you could be hanging out with friends. Heck, bring your friends over to help too!

EIGHT instances of free, no-hassle table cleaning per month, total, by whomever

NINE windows wiped, whenever

TEN minutes of picking up around the house when you could be on Facebook

ELEVEN moments of silence, instead of an angry or snide remark, or just share a part of your day with me

TWELVE cheerful days of time off for me, per year, just because you're grateful for all I do for the family

MERRY CHRISTMAS!