Close Encounters of the Weird Kind
After that subject line you're probably expecting a post about something weird, well, um, sorry to disappoint you, but it's not going to be weird, not really. I just thought the subject line was funny. People this time of year have just gone bonkers. Today I was in the grocery store and I was 2 tiny little cents away from exact change and the cashier wouldn't let me go so I had to give her a whole other dollar and shove 98 cents in change in my pocket. Then she looks at me, smiles and says, 'Merry Christmas', I just smile sweetly back and say, 'Merry fucking Christmas to you too, honey' and walk away. She gave me the weirdest look. People are rushing around, making fools out of themselves and for what? So they can get their spoiled kids the new cool TMX Elmo or whatever? I saw 2 people in Wal-Mart the other night fighting over a toy. A TOY!!! Why in the hell would anyone want to fight over a toy? It's *just* a toy! It's not the Hope Diamond or anything, just a toy. There's plenty of other toys on the shelf right behind you! If your kid doesn't get the new hot toy would he or she explode into a million pieces? Would they die? No, they wouldn't. They'd survive just like we did when we were kids and we didn't get what we wanted from Santa. I'm sure there's people out there that got everything they wanted for Christmas from Santa every year. Those are the people you see on Christmas Eve fighting over toys. The more reality-based people are just standing there watching them like the idiots they are. My question is: is it really worth it? I would rather my kids learn that you don't always get what you want, that life is NOT fair and that to really get ahead in life, you have to forget about the small stuff and concentrate on the big stuff - education, career, family, and sharing what you have, no matter how small, even if you have to do without yourself. I think those lessons are the real gifts that matter - not the hot new video game or toy.