Paced

Whew. We did it. I have never in my life shopped this late for holiday gifts. Summer trails off for me and officially ends when my Holiday shopping is complete. Maybe I was trying to extend summer, or maybe I was just lazy this year. I actually believe it was the latter because it is freezing out and not really very summery. The uncertain economy this year and the psychology nudged me into tightening my belt so to speak. After several financial adjustments, moving of money and collecting from those that owed me I felt secure enough to do some mild holiday shopping.

My experience with shopping this late in the game was horrific. I never knew what people meant when they talked about the "holiday chaos/rush" now I will never forget it! I don't plan to ever let another summer pass through here without ending it in a retail holiday collection. There simply is no reason in the world that I can think of to set foot in a store after Thanksgiving Day! I mean, sure its fun to look at lights and all the "glitz and glow" but that does not come with out a price. Despite the crowds, lines, parking problems, and lack of gifts left over in the store the shoppers were in very nice moods. I was not once scowled at, or scowled at anyone else either. I did witness a lot of unfortunate holiday shopping experiences, which made me grateful that I was not hit by a cart, barfed on by a child or baby, in the middle of a fight over a last item, stepped on, bumped, pushed, or yelled at. I escaped the madness without any real mad ness so to speak. I'm home finally, with gifts that are more than adequate and a very valuable lesson about holiday shopping.

In retrospect it was not as bad as I had anticipated it being.

Now I will not have to leave the house to even go to the grocery store until after the first of the year, and I don't plan too. The next few days as a matter of fact I plan to be on lock down. I'm going to be home cleaning the house, doing laundry and just straightening up prior to the years end. Christmas will be celebrated with the Du Bois and Collier families. This year the Collier family is including my mom, dad and brother. I work tomorrow night and then again Friday, Saturday, Sunday, with a few days off before I return to the unit New Year's Eve and New Years Day.

We are truly ahead of where I envisioned us as far as life planning, organization and household worries go at this point, yet not exactly ahead of the over all game. I'm looking forward to the New Year and all of the surprises that will accompany it. I'm not so much excited for myself as I'm for all of my friends and family and the aire of change that is surrounding all of them. The launching of careers, the continuing to build families, the start of new relationships, there is just something deep inside of me that is telling me that 2009 is going to bring on something quite grand in all of our lives. I'm excited about having those around me that are experiencing change and getting to be a part or an observer of those changes.

Despite the rushing and bustle of the day, it ended quite nicely. I'm beginning to enjoy those that are in my life right now the pace that things are at in life. Alot of it has to do with the conscious elimination of toxic things.