One Left

Last night, there were a bunch of boxes on the front steps. This is the last of the items ordered. I have two more things coming but they are for me so they don't count in the madness of Christmas shopping.

The top box was "perfectly Pilchard-size" so I tossed it onto the floor. It is also the perfect size to ship the rest of Carole's things to her. Maybe it's the idea that she can lie under (sort of) the tree, but she showed absolutely no interest in sitting in this new box. She didn't even get up from her spot to go sniff it.

Everything was unpacked, put into piles and then wrapped and reboxed for shipping. I sent 8 items out on Monday; only one yesterday and will ship two today. That leaves 3 that are boxed to be shipped and two left to finish the packing on. I have to take some packaging material from the office to finish packaging those. That's tonight's task.

There is one left to get and it comes in on Friday. I can hardly wait to go get it. Then, I'm done. Finished. Fini. Ended.

I've always been one who wanted the shopping done early. "First Class will have it there on Thursday for $8.85 or Parcel Post will get it there by Monday for $7.50." I don't want my shipping options to all be one dollar and thirty-five cents more because I waited.

Plus, I was out in the crush on Saturday. It was gorgeous on Saturday; 65 and although cloudy, I walked around in a tee shirt covered with a heavier denim shirt. In December. In Chicagoland. People were everywhere. Merchants have to be thrilled. The warm weather brings out everyone, even people who don't have much to spend. They wind up getting some cocoa or a card for Grandma simply because they are out in "it".

But it's kind of a strain on me, to be out in "it". I don't have the stamina I used to. At the candy counter, the gal ringing up the guy at the head of the line was having an awful time. I don't know what the problem was, but she had to ring him up three times before they got it right and then, she put in the wrong amount of cash he gave her and she had to ring him up again. Three people in front of me made disgusted comments and left the line, leaving what they were going to buy on the counter for her to put away when she wasn't busy. I'm exceedingly patient and I understand computers, especially systems that have to process a lot of data from multiple sources, can be problematic. The more people who left the line, the quicker I'll get to the front when this problem is sorted out, is my philosophy. I don't have anywhere else to go.

Yet, this was the last stop in a morning, early afternoon, of shopping and errands. I was beginning to feel it in my knees. Years ago, a meander through a mall at Christmas was something I loved to do. Take me to Michigan Avenue and let's start at 900 North and walk south to the river, gazing in all the store windows, looking at the lights on the trees, maybe get some hot beverage along the way. Now, I think of that and think how painful it would be right now. It would be an endurance event. I'd get about a third of the way and say, "Okay, that's good. I can see from here."

Life has changed. If I really think about it, I can get all depressed about how narrow my world view is now. I don't choose to see it like that. My world view isn't narrowed, it's just changed. So, I can't walk from 900 North to the river, but I can walk from 900 North to 500 North. Then, perhaps, we go get the car and park at 500 and walk from there to the river. Or we decide that what we really want to see isn't down by the river, it's Water Tower Place and that's where we're going to stay. It's all about rearranging your perspective. Seeing the "can" instead of the "cannot".

So, my tendency to want all my shopping done before the 15th of the month works to my advantage. My former excuse was that I wanted to enjoy the holiday without rushing around. That's still a valid reason for wanting all the shopping done. The added layer is that it's a bit too hard on the old body to be standing online for 15 minutes while the computers decide to allow a sale. Once this last gift arrives and gets shipped next week, I am officially done and really can kick back, put up the recliner and sit. I have such a feeling of happiness as I look at these boxes. I've had fun picking and choosing and finding the fun stuff.

I do need new tags, however. When what you have left is the bigger than the present to which it needs to be attached...

Beverage:  Rooibos Tea

Deb