I like nothing more on my Fridays off than to putter around the house. Give the place a good cleaning, do some laundry, shake up the chi.
In the midst of doing that this past Friday I decided to go out and shop for a few things. There is some bedroom rearranging going on around here and so I was looking for new bedding, something for the mantel, a new plate for the shelf in the dining room, another scented candle.
I went to my favorite places…………T.J. Maxx and Homegoods. I struck out on the bedding and couldn’t decide on the mantel, but I wandered. Oh my goodness did I ever wander. And while I was wandering I came across some frenzied shoppers. Carts piled with stuff to the point they could hardly see where they were going. A couple that had one of everything sold in home decor in white in their cart.
It was crazy.
I found an upholstered bench on clearance that I didn’t go to get but decided to take it home and give it a whirl. When I asked a sales associate about the return policy he said BECAUSE IT’S THE HOLIDAYS I have until January.
Oh, that. Is that Christmas music I’m hearing?
Then I spent half an hour picking out hand soap for the kitchen while the madness whirled around me.
Packaging/scent? Packaging/scent? Should I be doing something else? Nah…………
I went to Bath & Body Works to get another of the Autumn candle (because I loved the first one I bought and it’s autumn) and I was out of luck. Only Christmas scents were available. I spent another half hour sniffing everything that wasn’t frasier firrish.
“Just one?” they asked when I checked out.
Yes, just one.
On Saturday morning we finally confirmed where we would actually be eating Thanksgiving dinner this year which was only five days away. There seems to be a concerted effort to make me think that I am ridiculously behind on Christmas when I have had trouble deciding the logistics of the gratitude day. I don’t want to shop for holiday decor in July, listen to Christmas carols in October or see retail sales people work on Thanksgiving night.
And a car does not make a perfect gift because if it were I would know of at least one person that’s gotten one for Christmas.
I will tune all that out while I get ready for Thanksgiving, and think about the times we squeezed around my parents’ table crammed with relatives, bowed our heads and listened to dad give thanks for life and love and each other.
Thankfulness only asks for a quiet mind and a blessed chi.