11 Days and Counting!

Less than two weeks until Christmas, and the world is going a bit mad. I dread going shopping anytime within the last two weeks before Christmas, and I won't go near a mall from Thanksgiving until New Year's. 
Last night I headed to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping and to pick up a few more Christmas gifts. I had been listening to Christmas music, and was excited about the gifts I was picking up for other people. I was in a giving, Christmassy mood. When I pulled into the parking lot, it was a mess of shopping carts. Normally it kind of annoys me when people leave their shopping cart in the parking spot rather than taking it to the cart return. It just seems inconsiderate. But it's been raining on and off for the past few days, and Arizonans don't typically carry umbrellas with them. I understood that people just wanted to get out of the rain as quickly as possible. When I arrived, it wasn't raining so I decided to take a few minutes and round up all the carts in the area, and put them in the cart return. I just wanted to make it a little easier for the poor employees that have to go out into the icky weather to gather up the carts. After about ten minutes of putting carts away, a man who had just finished his shopping and loading his bags into his car, pushed his cart in my general direction, got in his car and drove away.  Ok, I'm clearly not a Wal-Mart employee in my green sweater and my purse hanging on my shoulder...but oh well.  'Tis the season and all that, stay happy, don't let it ruin the mood.  I put the cart away, and a few more after that, and I felt good about my bit of Christmas kindness. I headed into the store to do my own shopping.


A box of "Forgton" pictures
at Wal-Mart

Inside was exactly the kind of mayhem I expected. Long lines, people pushing and grabbing, low stock on popular and sale items. I had to go to the back of the store to pick up a gift I ordered online for Fiona, and was happy when I saw that there were only two people in line ahead of me. Unfortunately that line was like molasses in January. If you're unfamiliar with the properties of molasses and what happens to it in cold weather, it's SLOW moving. I waited in that line for over 30 minutes and was so ready to be out of there when I was done. I finally finished up my shopping, made it through the long line of pushy people who clearly wanted to be anywhere but in line at Wal-Mart, and headed out. ...Only to find when I got to the door that there was a torrential downpour outside and temperature had plummeted. I immediately regretted my decision to take the first parking spot I saw at the back of the lot. There was no choice except to run for it. The cart was heavy, and the water was deep enough to cover my shoes. By the time I got to my car, I was soaked and freezing. As I was throwing my bags into the trunk of my car with wild abandon, a car drove past and drenched me as it sped through the water. I finished loading my bags and got into the car. I cranked up the heat and tried not to cry.
This is why I try to avoid stores at this time of year. Christmas is supposed to be a time of giving, family, love, cheer and goodwill towards man. Instead, people are greedy and rude. Most of the presents I'm giving out this year to friends and family have been hand made, so I haven't had to do as much shopping as I would otherwise...but I still have to go grocery shopping. No avoiding that. Well, I don't have to go shopping again for at least a week, and I think I'll go in the middle of the night to avoid a repeat of last night's trip. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the Christmas season with my little family.  Baking cookies, listening to Christmas music, enjoying our beautiful Christmas tree, wrapping presents - I just need to focus on my family and the happy aspects of Christmas that I love, and not worry about the rest of the world.