Please Do Not Adjust Your Screen

I'm thinking about saying "Bah Humbug" to Christmas this year. I know it's not even Thanksgiving here in the US, but the Christmas season is well under way. From snowflakes falling to stores playing holiday jingles...it is quickly sneaking up on everyone. My reason for saying "BH" this year are many and varied; from being a single income family now to the crabby people you meet in the stores, and everything in between.

I love Christmas; I love the real reason for the holiday, family, buying gifts for people, decorating, LIVE Christmas trees, stockings, cookies, nanaimo bars, eggnog, Christmas cards, the Rockettes Christmas show, snow, just about everything - except for it being over. I always want to put up the decorations as soon as possible, but have somewhat begrudgingly agreed to wait until Thanksgiving has finished (one more reason I love Canada - Thanksgiving in October!!). Christmas shopping is always fun for me, but I usually make myself wait until the end of November to start or I will buy way too much and spend way too much money.

For some reason this year, or maybe it's just today, I sort of don't care. One might think I would be extra excited this year now that T has joined us, but she is too little to really know what is going on or get excited...and let's face it, there's not a whole lot of awesome toys out there for kids under the age of 6 months. I am sure next Christmas will be more fun with her, not that this year won't, but hey, if you've got to scrimp on a kids Christmas, now is the chance to do it, right? She won't even remember to be mad at us when she doesn't get a lot of gifts or that life sized pony, Buttercup, or Butterscotch, or whatever it's called.
Being out today for an hour and a half really took any holiday excitement I had and popped it like a balloon. I pulled into the parking lot and was amazed at all of the cars already parked and those circling trying to find somewhere to park. I thought it looked more like 2 weeks until Christmas, not 7 weeks until Christmas. As I went into the first store I began to notice what I detest most about Christmas - the people. I know, not a very Christlike, or Christmas like attitude to have, but when it seems that everyone is vying for the title of Mr/Mrs/Ms Rude of the year, it makes it hard to enjoy the shopping process. No one says excuse me, they look at you like you just ran over their dog if you try to pass them, even when they run into you they act as if it is your fault. Now, I am not expecting people to bow and step out of my way as we approach, but maybe if you see me trying to exit out of the doors with my stroller wheel caught on one door and the stroller handle caught on another..maybe, just maybe you could give me a hand (or at least offer), instead of walking by us to another door because we're slowing you up.
Maybe this year I will park Christmas at the door and let others battle it out for the last "item of the moment" on the shelf, and I'll just sit on my couch in my pj's, drinking egg nog, eating nanaimo bars and watching Rudolph and the Grinch.