I'm Glad I'm Done

I'm very happy to report that as of 10:25 this morning, I finsihed all of my Christmas shopping.  I got up early this morning and grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out to the mall.  I'd originally planned on getting there at 8:00 when they opened, but I wanted to sleep in a little bit.  I had no idea that the mall would be packed at 8:45, but it is the weekend before Christmas, so I should have expected it.  I only drove around the parking lot once when I found a parking spot on the end of the aisle, just a few feet from an entrance.  I thought it was a good sign.  As I walked to door, I went over the mental shopping list, and then I made my purchases, mentally checking each item off of my list as I went along.  In a half hour's time, I was on the way back to the car, thrilled to death. I had one more stop to make at the Super Wal-Mart on the way home, and then I would be finished.  I wasn't quite as successful at Wal-Mart as I was in the mall, but after a slight deviation from my mental shopping list, I bought my stuff and headed home. 

A lot of people would cringe when they read that I finished my Christmas shopping a week before Christmas; actually, that's early for me.  I usually finish up on the evening before Christmas Eve.  I wish I would pace myself during the year and start my Christmas shopping in the spring, like a lot of my co-workers do. But that's just not me; I work better under pressure when there's a deadline looming over me.  I did, however, just open a Christmas account at the bank, so even though I'm a procrastinator I should get credit for that.  At least I make a list of what I want to buy, instead of going out and just looking around for something; I should get credit for that, too.

I spent over an hour in the basement when I got back home from the hair salon, and now everything is wrapped and ready to go.  The new laundry table that Dad built is very handy for wrapping Christmas presants. If I'd thought about it, I would have taken off the pole where we hang the clothes, and slid a couple rolls of wrapping paper on it, and then I would have been just like the department stores' gift wrap counter.  Maybe next year.