When my colleague, Joy Oglesby, whimsically took a photo of a sign I hung on my cubicle wall and playfully Tweeted it, it gave me pause to actually consider the message between the lines - not too seriously mind you, but it inspires today's missive.

The sign reads: "Dear Santa, Define Good."

As a kid growing up, I learned that back in the day, St. Nicholas would put coal in stockings of children he deemed undeserving of any other gift that year. I wondered, could the poor soul have redeemed him or herself with a last minute good deed?

What about giving? I don't believe for one minute that as we shop for holiday gifts each year, it's completely without judgment. I don't know if that's good or bad.

I think we do consider how our children behave. We recall how our friends treated us all year long. We decide if other family members have been naughty or nice.

I think most parents are in year-round, is-my-kid-good behavior-assessment mode anyway. How good are the kids' grades? Do they do their chores with grace? (I know, that is a lofty idea!). Are they polite to the grandparents, friends and us?

But as the holidays loom, and we haven't had a chance to do early Christmas shopping, another opportunity for us parents arise: to further define good by looking at even smaller behaviors!

As I brave the crowds of other harried and over-stressed consumers, I know I'll be asking myself: do the kids pout-did they shout? Do they cry? They better not have- at least not from around Halloween on through the holiday shopping season. Because us parents are doing enough of that ourselves waiting in lines to purchase stuff.