Christmas Shopping Madness

Last night I laid in bed attempting to force myself to sleep but simply couldn't.  I had a million ideas running through my head about what I wanted to write next.  I thought about ways to try to inspire people with what I wrote, what direction the blog should go, funny stories about my past, etc...  After a while, everything started becoming a giant yarn ball of junk.  Today, I spent my time attempting to unravel that yarn ball.

I tried to write today on multiple occasions only to find that what I was writing was boring and preachy.  I don't know exactly what I want this blog to be, but I do know I don't want it to be like that.  So, in an attempt to unravel the yarn ball, I went Christmas shopping.  I didn't get much shopping done, but I did do a whole lot of people watching.

This time of year is probably the most fascinating time to people watch.  Every which way people run about attempting to get everything on their Christmas shopping lists checked off.  Bell ringers stand outside of every store hoping for passerby's change, and every cashier asks me to donate to some charity I vaguely know about.  Even people in parking lots think that everyone else needs to follow the laws of the road but for some reason a stop sign is more of an optional yield only when they approach.  'Tis the season right?

I saw people in stores they clearly have never been to, buying things they've definitely no idea why they're buying.  I saw a grandma in a Spencer's gifts today while "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot blared in the background.  There were men, myself included, attempting to pick out women's clothes in hopes of picking out something that didn't ACTUALLY need that gift receipt.  There was a kid, I swear wasn't even ten, attempting to  pick out which coffee maker came with the best features.  My favorite was the mom at the local Hookah kiosk.

People range in emotion everywhere from stressful to excited and anywhere in-between during the Christmas season.  Starting on black Friday, there's the "Target Lady" wannabes and the "keep me as far away from the madness"  home shoppers; the "I'll let my wife do the shopping" husbands to the "he better get the perfect gift no matter the cost" wives.  As soon as the Turkey is down and football is over, people basically lose their minds.

I guess it's a noble cause for all of this.  At the end of the day, what we all really want, is to give that perfect gift to that special someone and try as hard as we can to be able to afford the bill at the end of it all.  What we don't always realize is that, that special someone doesn't need us to go through the madness.  They don't need two months' pay worth of gifts.  They don't need to go to work the next day with the fanciest watch or come home to the newest video game.  All any of us really need is to spend this special time of year with the ones we love.  I think that's what the spirit of Christmas is.  I hear it's the season for giving, but I think that's mainly something made up by some really good marketing people somewhere.  Really what it is, or at least what it ought to be, is the season of togetherness.

Even after all of my people watching today, I still know that I'll be doing plenty of Christmas shopping for my loved ones, but I know that even if I can't afford everything on their wish-lists, they'll still be my loved ones come December 26th.  This world is constantly going 100 mph and this time of year we're doing more like 150 mph, but it's the simple things that keep us grounded and these times of the year that really ought to ground us as we travel through all of this improbable madness.