Twenty Days

Hey, just 20 days and it will be Christmas.

That is still plenty of time to do your shopping and it isn’t even considered “last minute” shopping. In another week there will be some question as to your commitment to the season and in two weeks it will just be guilty, panic buying. There is nothing wrong with that, but it does age you prematurely.

 

Every year I swear to myself that I am going to start shopping right in the beginning of the New Year, giving real thought to what I buy for those I love. A present should reflect how much the person means to you, and not in a dollar value. Mind you, you can’t ignore having a financially balanced gift exchange. I remember trading gifts one year when I was in my teens and my gift didn’t measure up to the amount the other person spent. To be fair, I didn’t have a lot of money and the gift I gave was meaningful and from the heart. A cheap ass heart to be sure, but still…from the heart.

I think about gifts throughout the year, but I almost always second guess myself and by the time I do make a decision, the opportunity to buy has disappeared. I know that “good intentions” don’t count. They are impossible to wrap and so is love and affection by the way. Long gone are the days when I could stand naked in the living room with a big red bow around me and a big smile. Okay, those days were never here, I was too cheap to buy a ribbon and to be frank; the gift was really for me.

 

I’ve still got twenty days. Of course I need to spend a few of those days thinking about what I want…slippers?...belt?...iPad cover?...time management skills?...some sort of chemical to reduce stress?...focus?…

I’m sure there will be an incoherent blog in a couple of weeks when the panic has really set in and the last minute is truly the last minute. However, until then I have 28,800 minutes…give or take a few.