City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks...

...not to mention busy store aisles, too.

I started my Christmas shopping tonight, which is to say I went to a couple of stores with some ideas in mind, only to become frustrated by the chaos and throw up my arms in disgust, vowing to give it another, more patient, attempt tomorrow.

I must admit, this is a late start, even for me. I usually have one small burst of creative gift-giving ideas in late November and make a purchase or two...before waiting until the weekend before Christmas to finish the rest, of course.

I don't have a spectacularly long list of people to shop for, and I like it that way. Those of you who do, I don't know how you do it, aside from starting your shopping in late August, maybe. Or making Christmas shopping a year-round activity, purchasing items in March or May, and tucking them away.

If I was to tuck something away eight months before Christmas, it would be promptly forgotten two weeks after purchase.

Tonight there were many conversations, both mine and those overheard, that went like this:

"Excuse me, could you help me with th..."

"Yes, sir, I'll be right with you."

*pause, wait, pause, pause, pause some more*

"Excuse me, miss, could you unlock th..."

"One moment, sir, I'll be right with you."

*wait, pause, wait, wait, wait some more*

One woman turned to her little boy and say, "C'mon, kiddo...we're never going to get anything done like this."

Thing is...tomorrow it'll be the exact same scenario. But I will have already programmed myself on the drive to the stores to have as much patience as it takes to get what I need. And to cope with the shoppers five-wide in an aisle that can really only fit three.

And next year I'll go Christmas shopping in July.

"In almost every survey of consumers,
they say they don't mind spending money.
What they hate is the shopping experience."
—Alan Bush