bah. humbug!
Unless I'm getting groceries, I don't want to step foot in a store from now until February 8 (which, coincidentally, happens to be my birthday). I don't care about the pre-Christmas rush or the post-Christmas sales. I want peace and harmony and low blood pressure.
I went to target today and began feeling cranky before I got Isabel situated in the buggy. Within 15 minutes I was so annoyed I was ready to knock over a few of the placed-too-close-together racks because I was so crowded by people and just wanted O U T. Where did they all come from?! Used to be I could walk around any store before noon and enjoy relative solitude. Except Wal-mart, of course, but I don't make it a habit to shop there.
Today, I pulled a cart out of the near-empty cart station and started to put Isabel in and people were actually lining up behind me, as if I were blocking their access to the carts, and getting all impatient. There wasn't a cart in front of me or behind me or next to me. Get off my back, people.
And of course it's 1030 so the line for Starbucks is winding around the little cafe thing so getting my first peppermint mocha spice (decaf) latte of the season (and probably only) is near-impossible. And then I try to navigate through the clothing racks but of course all the racks and free-standing walls are placed exactly one and a half feet apart, so a person can walk through them but the buggies refuse to fit, making it inevitable at least one rack per row gets displaced just trying to maneuver down an aisle. And of course today is All the Target Employees Get to Price Check Items Day, so every other row has a red shirt with two carts full of scanners and stickers which makes it impossible to get anywhere in a straight line. And of course I have to go to the bathroom and I'm pregnant so as soon as the thought hits my brain I have to go now. And of course the only way out of the children's section is a labyrinthine path that has you trying to double-back and turn around in a space too small for a mouse. And of course someone is in the only bathroom in Target that I can bring the buggy in with me (i'm not putting my child down on that floor!) and taking their sweet time getting out, not even answering my knock with a pleasant, "Just a minute!" but a short, "What?!".
Is it just me or has Target gotten overloaded with stuff? It's like there's so much stuff it's overwhelming; it's impossible to know what you're even looking at let alone see half of it.
On the other hand, this is the first year since, oh, childhood, I'm actually not annoyed by Christmas stuff and even want to decorate and get into the season and listen to christmas music. Sure, time has gone by so quickly it feels like it should be August, not December, but each season has come and gone so logically and, since everything has been celebrated individually for once, it feels good and right to be ready for Christmas this year.
I think it's because we've become so home-oriented and generally have stayed away from stores and other mass-populated locations. I don't feel like I've been forced to consume halloween since June and Christmas since September. I really can't tell you when the last time was we went to Target before today, or to the mall, any mall. I go to the grocery store once a week, Jo-Ann's once or twice a month, church weekly, school weekly, women's group monthly, La Leche League monthly, farmer's market bi-weekly....that's generally it, other than the frequent trips to and from my parents'. I feel like I've totally skipped the societal herd rush, living completely in my own little fast-forwarded family time.
I love it. I'd rather the weeks fly by with my attention focused on what art activity we're going to do today or whether we should take a walk to the park or spend the morning at the library and catch those super-speedy moments with my family, than be going half a dozen places in one day every day and wonder where my time has gone and why I can't keep track of everything or remember what I ate for breakfast.
Being ready for Christmas does NOT equal being ready to give Christmas gifts. I am so danged far behind.
I went to target today and began feeling cranky before I got Isabel situated in the buggy. Within 15 minutes I was so annoyed I was ready to knock over a few of the placed-too-close-together racks because I was so crowded by people and just wanted O U T. Where did they all come from?! Used to be I could walk around any store before noon and enjoy relative solitude. Except Wal-mart, of course, but I don't make it a habit to shop there.
Today, I pulled a cart out of the near-empty cart station and started to put Isabel in and people were actually lining up behind me, as if I were blocking their access to the carts, and getting all impatient. There wasn't a cart in front of me or behind me or next to me. Get off my back, people.
And of course it's 1030 so the line for Starbucks is winding around the little cafe thing so getting my first peppermint mocha spice (decaf) latte of the season (and probably only) is near-impossible. And then I try to navigate through the clothing racks but of course all the racks and free-standing walls are placed exactly one and a half feet apart, so a person can walk through them but the buggies refuse to fit, making it inevitable at least one rack per row gets displaced just trying to maneuver down an aisle. And of course today is All the Target Employees Get to Price Check Items Day, so every other row has a red shirt with two carts full of scanners and stickers which makes it impossible to get anywhere in a straight line. And of course I have to go to the bathroom and I'm pregnant so as soon as the thought hits my brain I have to go now. And of course the only way out of the children's section is a labyrinthine path that has you trying to double-back and turn around in a space too small for a mouse. And of course someone is in the only bathroom in Target that I can bring the buggy in with me (i'm not putting my child down on that floor!) and taking their sweet time getting out, not even answering my knock with a pleasant, "Just a minute!" but a short, "What?!".
Is it just me or has Target gotten overloaded with stuff? It's like there's so much stuff it's overwhelming; it's impossible to know what you're even looking at let alone see half of it.
On the other hand, this is the first year since, oh, childhood, I'm actually not annoyed by Christmas stuff and even want to decorate and get into the season and listen to christmas music. Sure, time has gone by so quickly it feels like it should be August, not December, but each season has come and gone so logically and, since everything has been celebrated individually for once, it feels good and right to be ready for Christmas this year.
I think it's because we've become so home-oriented and generally have stayed away from stores and other mass-populated locations. I don't feel like I've been forced to consume halloween since June and Christmas since September. I really can't tell you when the last time was we went to Target before today, or to the mall, any mall. I go to the grocery store once a week, Jo-Ann's once or twice a month, church weekly, school weekly, women's group monthly, La Leche League monthly, farmer's market bi-weekly....that's generally it, other than the frequent trips to and from my parents'. I feel like I've totally skipped the societal herd rush, living completely in my own little fast-forwarded family time.
I love it. I'd rather the weeks fly by with my attention focused on what art activity we're going to do today or whether we should take a walk to the park or spend the morning at the library and catch those super-speedy moments with my family, than be going half a dozen places in one day every day and wonder where my time has gone and why I can't keep track of everything or remember what I ate for breakfast.
Being ready for Christmas does NOT equal being ready to give Christmas gifts. I am so danged far behind.