I live my life by lists. This probably sounds horribly limiting to some people but having a place to write things down as I think of them – and better yet, check them off when they’re done – gives me peace of mind. I keep lists of bills, things to do, groceries to buy…the list of lists goes on and on. And as of this afternoon…I have a list of Christmas shopping.
Once again, some people may wonder why on Earth you need to think about Christmas shopping prior to, oh, December 23rd or so, and others will be aghast that this has taken me until August. Usually I am in the latter camp; I tend to buy – or at least keep a lookout for – gifts all year. I have items on multiple websites bookmarked as gift ideas which was feeling pretty disorganized and so The C-word List was created. (Nope. Not calling it that. I’ll just say Christmas.)
And to those who feel that I am at LEAST four months too early for this endeavor…I really do understand to a certain extent. Every year I am aware of, and push back against, the Christmas Creep and every year it seems to get harder. If I was doing such a thing as shopping in stores these days I would not be surprised to see Christmas decorations in stores alongside the back-to-school items.
Although the holiday season edges up further every year I can mostly forgive that. Thanksgiving and general fall décor are mostly interchangeable and besides – PIE. Halloween candy is a little premature unless you feel the need to sample Reese’s cups and Milky Ways from a variety of retailers to make sure they are of a high enough quality to hand out to innocent little children and I am totally not talking about myself. (I seem to be getting sidetracked here, I probably should have had a snack before I tried to write anything coherent.)
Anyways, what I am trying to say here is that I love sweets. Oh, also that despite all that is different about the world this year, time seems to go by quicker and quicker, and hopefully we can stay focused on what really matters – family, love, traditions, Reese’s cups – and find things to enjoy where we can.
Writing Into The Dark 