Christmas Shopping

I think we finished our Christmas shopping yesterday. Well, I mean everyone in the family except me. I plan on heading to GF right after school tomorrow. I should have finished yesterday, but, like life, things didn't exactly go as planned . . .

We woke up early to get ready for KoKo's seventh grade basketball game in EGF. As I headed downstairs to let the dogs out and feed the animals, I thought the downstairs floor was unusually cold, but I didn't stop to think much about it.

It was only later that Kristie said it was down to 52 degrees. Apparently, our furnace wasn't working. Just what you love to have happen when it's minus several degrees outside. This meant a quick call to the repairman, who I imagined just loved getting a call around ten o'clock on a Saturday.

I elected to stay behind while Kristie left for the game. She wasn't out the door a minute when she came back in. Apparently, she had an absent minded professor moment (as I do daily). While she was backing out of the garage, she turned too quickly and hit my car. No big deal - my car is still dented up from a hail storm two summers ago and a collision with a deer last spring. But for our Trailblazer, a chunk of the plastic bumper (do they even make real bumpers on vehicles anymore?) was gouged out and lying on the cement.

She was upset with herself, but I reassured her with my mantra, "It is what it is." Life goes on. No one was hurt. We have good insurance. It is what it is.

After that, I returned to the frigid house, hooked up a small electric heater next to our dining room table, took out my Macbook and began working on our final imovie (a tribute to my side of the family). Eventually, the repairman made it over and replaced our cracked lighter (can't wait to see what that will cost us) in about 30 minutes.

Then I drove up to GF to catch KoKo's game, which they won 40-10. She also played in the 8th grade came, who also won by 30 points.

Following the game and a trip to Texas Roadhouse, we braved the mall. And I mean braved it. For it was packed. I almost got dizzy immediately. Two weeks ago when we went shopping, the mall was relatively vacant. Not so yesterday.

Finally, I plopped down on a bench and mentally accosted myself for waxing nostaglaic about shopping a few blog posts ago. My head hurt, my feet hurt worse, and I felt like I was about to dose off.

After 20 minutes of sitting, I spied Kristie and KoKo coming my way. It was then that we remembered we were not out of the wood quite yet. We still had to pick up film for Kristie's mom - at - gulp - Walmart.

Now there is nothing that shakes my faith in humanity like a trip to Walmart. After last night, my faith is still shaken. Unlike the mall, Walmart had their Salvation Army bell ringing planted outside. Why he couldn't come in was beyond me. But there he stood in the freezing cold ringing his bell - 20 feet from the entrance. I'd have given up and asked for chariety from the civilized bunch over at the mall.

Of course, any trip into Walmart is about 45 minutes of your life you always wish you could get back. I located the film easily enough, but I was behind a poor woman who had orderd 90 Christmas cards via the one hour developing center. Well, as the worker explained, under these circumstances - she said pointing to a lovely hand written sign - that one hour was considered same day. So they probably - don't you love that? - probably not done. So if she could just come by tomorrow it would be great. However, the poor gal was not from GF. So the worker exhaled and began to dig for them. Sure enough, they were done and she handed them over to her. What the hell does she get paid for? I wondered.

It only took her about 10 minutes to locate Gial's film. I had to love the older lady behind me in line. When the worker asked me when I had dropped the film off - I had no idea - the lady behind me chimed in "Thanksgiving" and giggled. I smiled immediately. I love a little sass.

With the film in hand, I set out for cat food. I strolled the three hundred yards over to the grocery area. Of course, it was then that I realized they don't keep their pet food in their grocery area. So I stroleld the three hundred and fifty yards over to the pet food area. Then I marched back for an open register. I have better luck finding (and see, here is where I'm wishing I could come up with a perfect simile to really drive my sarcastic point home, but I doubt I'll come up with anything good. Here it goes . . .) a Walmart worker with all their teeth in their head than you do an open lane. So I marched 300 yards back to the automatic checkouts. The lines here were relatively short. However, I had never used one of these before. The pressure was on. It wasn't bad. Except the damn machine wouldn't accept Gail's Walmart gift card, so I just used my credit card. All that was left was another 300 yard march outside.

My faith was not restored. But I snickered over the "Thanksgiving" comment some.