Christmas hustle and bustle
The shopping is done, the wrapping is completed, items to loved ones a distance away have been shipped, the Christmas cards have been written and mailed....now all there is to do is wait.
Which gives me an opportunity to ask some valid if rhetorical questions about the holiday season.....
Do people wait to see whom they receive Christmas cards from to decide to whom to send cards themselves? My wife and I review our received cards each year and occasionally remove people from the list if we've not heard from them in some time (possibly due to an inaccurate address or a general lack of contact outside of the Christmas season). When my wife and I met I knew that there were a good many people with whom she and the kids exchanged cards because of her first husband's past relationships (friends, classmates, coworkers). And we've maintained contact with many of those folks, even though I've not met many of them.
The unfortunate part of this scenario is that some of the contacts are now dying. We have received word from no fewer than three such people this season that their spouses are no longer among us due to illness in some cases or traffic accidents in others. Sad, but unfortunately a part of life.
Does driving ability diminish around the holidays? You couldn't prove otherwise to me, as people attempt things with their cars at this time of the year (weather notwithstanding) that they'd never do in the middle of summer....well, they might, at that, but not as routinely. Take a look at the parking lot of any major shopping area or mall, or even your local Target store, and you'll see cars squeezed in between other incorrectly parked cars in such a way that you have to wonder if the driver escaped his/her own vehicle through the window! And there appears to be a seasonal disregard for things like crosswalks and stop signs, too. Gangway!
Are people in the holiday spirit or are they in a hurry? Sometimes it's hard to tell. I know that retail clerks of all ilk appear to ALREADY be fed up, and it's just now December 15 as I write this. Patience, people!
And, finally, are you ready? I am, we are, and I hope you are, too. Bring it!
Which gives me an opportunity to ask some valid if rhetorical questions about the holiday season.....
Do people wait to see whom they receive Christmas cards from to decide to whom to send cards themselves? My wife and I review our received cards each year and occasionally remove people from the list if we've not heard from them in some time (possibly due to an inaccurate address or a general lack of contact outside of the Christmas season). When my wife and I met I knew that there were a good many people with whom she and the kids exchanged cards because of her first husband's past relationships (friends, classmates, coworkers). And we've maintained contact with many of those folks, even though I've not met many of them.
The unfortunate part of this scenario is that some of the contacts are now dying. We have received word from no fewer than three such people this season that their spouses are no longer among us due to illness in some cases or traffic accidents in others. Sad, but unfortunately a part of life.
Does driving ability diminish around the holidays? You couldn't prove otherwise to me, as people attempt things with their cars at this time of the year (weather notwithstanding) that they'd never do in the middle of summer....well, they might, at that, but not as routinely. Take a look at the parking lot of any major shopping area or mall, or even your local Target store, and you'll see cars squeezed in between other incorrectly parked cars in such a way that you have to wonder if the driver escaped his/her own vehicle through the window! And there appears to be a seasonal disregard for things like crosswalks and stop signs, too. Gangway!
Are people in the holiday spirit or are they in a hurry? Sometimes it's hard to tell. I know that retail clerks of all ilk appear to ALREADY be fed up, and it's just now December 15 as I write this. Patience, people!
And, finally, are you ready? I am, we are, and I hope you are, too. Bring it!
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