Christmas Shopping with the Cuties and the Crazies
Yesterday was my first official Christmas shopping day. Mainly due to a major lack of ideas, my kids already have so much stuff, it is difficult to purchase a bunch more. With list in hand, I set out to accumulate more worldly goods.
Along the way, I ran into various fellow shoppers that had me say hmmm...
First off was the throw back to the 80's lady. If the holiday season were Halloween instead of Christmas, I would have guessed she was on her way to a costume party. She had the big bleached blond hair, blouse with a matchy-matchy vest, the ever so popular levi skirt ( straight of course ) brown socks to match the brown stitching in her blouse and clogs. What more could you ask for? A tad too much make-up? No worries, that was the frosting on the cake. It was such a flash from the past, she reminded me of my 9th grade Spanish teacher. I hope I didn't stare to much, but you really mush enjoy a leap back in time.
Then I moved onto the Sam's Club sampler seniors. Where else do you run into a sweet old man, wearing his dress pants and jacket, with a baseball cap to complete the outfit, all while he is handing out half of a cracker with immitation crab salad on it. Scoot down the aisle a bit and you can get a tiny little cup of an energy drink from what may be his wife. She has the hair net, the white smock and a bit of an attitude. She is the one that insists a parent be with every child before doling out her goods.
The other seniors at Sam's Club made me smile as well. One little group of three ladies in particular. They were amazed at the huge amount of goods offered in a single package. It is a wholesale store, but they seemed amazed at every turn. To think, you can buy 24 cans of peaches as well as 46 rolls of toilet paper. I wondered if they were amazed that anyone could go through so much... which my family can do quite easily... or amazed at the abundance. These are WW II, depression era survivors, it begs the question of what their perspective is, thankful I don't have some of their memories, but grateful for the lessons learned from them.
I still smile thinking about the jacket and baseball cap. Our seniors have so much more class than we do. When they go out, they are usually dressed to impress. How many times have you passed a sweet grandma in the grocery store with dress pants, nylons and pumps? Her hair and make-up are done, and she has matching gloves and purse. They are so appreciative and kind. They know where America has been and yet found joy in their everyday lives, even when it wasn't so joyuful. We have a lot to learn from their examples, in more ways than one.
Onto the bus full of children. Not the bratty ones pulling faces and jumping over seats while a poor bus driver is mentally in another place while trying to endure the eternal bus route. This was a tiny school bus, full of wheelchairs, holding special children. I looked over at a sweet little brown haired girl looking out her window. She had sparkly elastics holding her hair out of her face. She was trying to look out at the world, all the while smiling with a crooked smile. It made me think of the crooked smiles I look at everyday and I was immediatly grateful for the blessings of tiny trials compared to some. Grateful my children are healthy, happy and home with me everyday.
So, as I wade through the holiday season, trying to make everyones wish list a reality-- although I won't be buying Brandon a " lab-top", we will all have a Merry Christmas as we realize what our true blessings are.
BE GRATEFUL!
Yesterday was my first official Christmas shopping day. Mainly due to a major lack of ideas, my kids already have so much stuff, it is difficult to purchase a bunch more. With list in hand, I set out to accumulate more worldly goods.
Along the way, I ran into various fellow shoppers that had me say hmmm...
First off was the throw back to the 80's lady. If the holiday season were Halloween instead of Christmas, I would have guessed she was on her way to a costume party. She had the big bleached blond hair, blouse with a matchy-matchy vest, the ever so popular levi skirt ( straight of course ) brown socks to match the brown stitching in her blouse and clogs. What more could you ask for? A tad too much make-up? No worries, that was the frosting on the cake. It was such a flash from the past, she reminded me of my 9th grade Spanish teacher. I hope I didn't stare to much, but you really mush enjoy a leap back in time.
Then I moved onto the Sam's Club sampler seniors. Where else do you run into a sweet old man, wearing his dress pants and jacket, with a baseball cap to complete the outfit, all while he is handing out half of a cracker with immitation crab salad on it. Scoot down the aisle a bit and you can get a tiny little cup of an energy drink from what may be his wife. She has the hair net, the white smock and a bit of an attitude. She is the one that insists a parent be with every child before doling out her goods.
The other seniors at Sam's Club made me smile as well. One little group of three ladies in particular. They were amazed at the huge amount of goods offered in a single package. It is a wholesale store, but they seemed amazed at every turn. To think, you can buy 24 cans of peaches as well as 46 rolls of toilet paper. I wondered if they were amazed that anyone could go through so much... which my family can do quite easily... or amazed at the abundance. These are WW II, depression era survivors, it begs the question of what their perspective is, thankful I don't have some of their memories, but grateful for the lessons learned from them.
I still smile thinking about the jacket and baseball cap. Our seniors have so much more class than we do. When they go out, they are usually dressed to impress. How many times have you passed a sweet grandma in the grocery store with dress pants, nylons and pumps? Her hair and make-up are done, and she has matching gloves and purse. They are so appreciative and kind. They know where America has been and yet found joy in their everyday lives, even when it wasn't so joyuful. We have a lot to learn from their examples, in more ways than one.
Onto the bus full of children. Not the bratty ones pulling faces and jumping over seats while a poor bus driver is mentally in another place while trying to endure the eternal bus route. This was a tiny school bus, full of wheelchairs, holding special children. I looked over at a sweet little brown haired girl looking out her window. She had sparkly elastics holding her hair out of her face. She was trying to look out at the world, all the while smiling with a crooked smile. It made me think of the crooked smiles I look at everyday and I was immediatly grateful for the blessings of tiny trials compared to some. Grateful my children are healthy, happy and home with me everyday.
So, as I wade through the holiday season, trying to make everyones wish list a reality-- although I won't be buying Brandon a " lab-top", we will all have a Merry Christmas as we realize what our true blessings are.
BE GRATEFUL!
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