during the holiday season, i'm in the lucky minority in the sense that i DON'T HAVE to go shopping for gifts. you see, our family is buddhist so our traditions during this season does not involve christmas or christmas trees or singing silent night around the fireplace while drinking eggnog. btw, do you do that? or did hallmark give me a crazy skewed view of the fa la la la world?
HOWEVER, this year, i did brave the malls to purchase a few stocking stuffers because i now have my own home and plan on creating my own traditions. although my loved ones in my home did not get full on presents, i thought it would be nice to stuff something teenie in their stockings (my dog charlie has his own stocking too!) as well as have a little lighted christmas tree in my wee house. ahhh...lights.
so back to shopping....the mall was HORRIFIC. HORRIFIC i tell ya! it was so crowded and although i know we are still in a recession, the sheer number of people i saw walking and shopping was enough to assure me that perhaps the economy is bouncing back after all....perhaps. i felt so relieved to only have to shop for 2 and charlie doesn't count because i got him a chewy bone! everything was done in one shot...BAM!
everywhere i went, there were lines, and crowds, and people bumping into you. although people SHOULD have holiday cheer, that was not always the case. i saw a fair amount of rudeness...i think folks just don't know how to function when there's too many people around them. it probably doesn't help that people are scrambling for last minute gifts which was apparent as i walked about. ack, the pressure of buying a gift isn't so fun...good thing i just had to get stocking stuffers and teenie ones at that.
the line to get out of the parking lot at my local mall was probably the worse line to be in. honking and exhaust :( it reconfirmed the brillance of online shopping!! perhaps next year, i will have the foresight to do that instead of stomping through the malls.
even with this taste of christmas shopping craze, i think i will try to keep the tradition of the christmas stocking. anyways, i hope you all have a most EXCELLENT holiday, be it christmas or hanukkah or kwanzaa or the like. as i bask in my newfound traditions, i hope you're enjoying yours.
i caught a little reindeer on the way home. isn't he cute?! happy holidays!
smooches,
bagnatic
2 comments:
our family is buddhist, too, but i grew up in a presbyterian household, so we still celebrate christmas as a family holiday, and an opportunity to practice generosity. i have 3 christmas trees (1 big one and two little alice in wonderland topiaries). hotei stands beneath the main tree, with our son's main present in his alms bowl. i think most of all the holidays give me the chance to practice patience. plus, it's just fun! hope you enjoyed your day too. xo kitty
kitty, i think you used the perfect word to describe the holidays...PATIENCE. patience comes from practice and every day at my job, i practice it. i guess i need to turn it on too when it comes to the holidays.
my christmas was low key and full of belly stretching foods. i hope yours was too :)
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