With Christmas just a week away, television is loaded with the warm, fuzzy Christmas specials, from musicals to the happily-ever-after movies about Christmas and all its miracles.

I particularly like The Christmas Carol and all its variations. The newest one with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge is one of the best. I love to listen to Stewart’s voice with his beautiful English accent. He makes a great Scrooge.

The story line is timeless. And then there is this year’s Karroll’s Christmas, when the ghosts go to the wrong house – or do they. It was interesting to watch it unfold.

Another movie that I love is “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Jimmy Stewart was good in that one too. That story was something we should all think about when we are wondering why we were put on this earth. We all touch people in so many different ways, ways that may change their lives for the better.

After all, everything happens for a reason, and even though we don’t know what that reason is at the moment, it will show itself later on down the road. These stories were made to make us think about our lives and how we treat the people in it and what is truly important – and it isn’t money.

I love Christmas movies and “Miracle on 34th Street” is another of my favorites. I suppose it’s because they always end happily ever after. I guess I look at them with a child’s heart. I hope I never lose that feeling of love for the Christmas spirit and my fellow man.

I’ve had plenty of time to watch all these great Christmas movies, because I have been sick with a nasty cold that has really knocked me for a loop. All I want to do is sleep, and that is impossible with such a stuffy nose. Sleep hasn’t come easy, but it is getting a little better, now it is time for the cough that burns your throat and chest. I do hate being sick, and I missed my guitar lesson because I didn’t want to pass it on to anyone else. It’s too darn miserable.

Now, because I have been sick, the packages that need to be wrapped are piling up in my bedroom. I can’t leave them in the living room because the cats love to tear them apart. Since we have Christmas morning with my daughter, Casey, I will be taking them across the street to the safety of her Christmas tree, as soon as I am well enough to go outside.

My cold will get better and Christmas will come whether I’m ready for it or not. They say that everything happens for a reason. I’m waiting to find out what the reason for the cold is and being stuck inside for over a week. Only time will tell. But you can bet there is a reason for even the common cold, if a cold is indeed common.

It seems like every other person you see is coughing and sneezing, so take your vitamins and wash your hands often. We don’t want you to come down with a miserable cold like mine. If you do catch a cold, drink lots of fluids and take over-the-counter remedies for the miseries of a head cold. Of course, it is a good excuse to become a couch potato for at least a week. And the Christmas movies have been great, even the old black and white ones, when I could stay awake long enough to enjoy them.

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Betty Kuhn of Boardman can be contacted at: bkuhn_1@msn.com.