The Weekend Before Christmas

Until yesterday…

I worked yesterday all day and it wasn’t too bad.  There were quite a few people in the office and I bought pizza for my team.  I didn’t hear from any customers that their holiday was ruined, so I dodged that bullet.  But for some reason, around 2:00, my head just started pounding.  I truly believe it was a stress headache.  

We are hosting Christmas morning for my mom’s family this year and I love making brunch food.  I made a grocery list about 3 days ago and wrote down the last few gifts I needed to pick up and got all my coupons and discounts ready.  I thought that list was my ticket to getting in and getting out and being all done with my shopping, but I knew the parking lots and Target itself was going to be nightmare on the Saturday before Christmas, especially with a pounding head.

I called my husband to see if he would come and give me moral support, but I then remembered that I needed to get his stocking stuffers still and I didn’t want him to be right around the corner when I was picking them out.  I made a decision in the car to take 5 deep breaths and enter the parking lot.  Of course, it look me 10 minutes to park and I got the last spot in the lot (at least it was 20 degrees and not negative.)  I walked through the doors at Target and noticed one cart left… and then the best thing happened…  my mom.

My mom just happened to walk into Target at the same time as me and was heading for the last cart.  Remember this was crazy because we don’t live in a small town and there are a few Targets in our neighborhood.  We teamed up together and spent an hour and a half walking through Target and crossing everything off our lists (except small candy canes, which we couldn’t find anywhere.)  The cashier found out that we had just happened to run into each other and agreed that it was a pretty special moment.  I truly believe she helped me stay sane and I didn’t notice my head pounding the whole time I was there.  

The best part was leaving Target because we had one cart to get everything to our cars and we were parked in the same last spot one row apart.  That made life a little easier.

So today, I’m grateful for my mom and how much we are alike sometimes.  I know it seems silly that I was stressed out about this trip to Target, but after working all day, I just wanted to get home and take some medicine and go to bed.  I am now totally set for Christmas morning and all my gifts are wrapped under the tree (and in the guest room… our tree is too small.)  I curled into the couch last night with my little family and watched The Santa Clause 3 and Christmas Vacation.

In the next 2 weeks, I have so many things to look forward to.  We have 4 Christmases to participate in (I might have to watch the Reese Witherspoon/Vince Vaughn movie again for some pointers), 2 ski trips to pack for and enjoy, 6 days of work, 2 friends get togethers and a ticket I must use for an exhibit at the art institute.  

I’m sitting here pre-sunrise on a Sunday enjoying a large cup of coffee and getting ready to volunteer at my sister-in-law’s church with the 3 and 4 year olds.  It’s going to be a busy day.  

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!