After we came home from Thanksgiving dinner at our friends' home, I was ready to pull out Bing Crosby and Nat "King" Cole and watch "The Little Drummer Boy."

My youngest son said "Mom, it's still Thanksgiving. It's too early for that."

(Click here for the Spouse Calls column about Thanksgiving.)

The next day I asked if anyone wanted to watch "Miracle on 34th Street."

"Mom, it's only the day after Thanksgiving. It's not Christmas yet."

What is wrong with these children? Aren't they in a hurry to leave behind the season of thanks-giving for the season of gift-getting?

On Veteran’s Day 1998, Andrew Carroll made an appeal via Abigail Van Buren’s column. While compiling his bestselling “Letters of a Nation,” published in 1997, Carroll said he was drawn to wartime correspondence. His “Dear Abby” request was for veterans and their families to send him letters written during war.

Nine years and 80,000 letters later, Carroll has published three books of wartime correspondence: “War Letters,” “Behind the Lines” and “Grace Under Fire.”

I wondered what a letter enthusiast like Carroll would have to say to today’s military families about staying in touch by mail. What does he think about e-mail, for example?

I've been following Letters to the Editor in Stars & Stripes regarding a military spouse who was in need of help and wrote expressing her frustration. It was similar to letters I receive for Spouse Calls, and I've been very interested to see the answers she has received.

Other letter writers offered such good advice, I thought it was well worth mentioning here:

David Smith, a spouse and former active duty member stationed in Germany suggested calling a family support center or spouse's unit for help. His letter is a good reminder that in order to receive help, we often have to let someone know that we're in need.