There are times during the holidays that I get overwhelmed by the crowds. I went to one of the malls that fester about on the landscape. People were relatively benign yet the amount of humanity and cars came close to gridlock. We all played parking bingo for spaces. It’s akin to musical chairs with cars. With one shopping day left, I thought I’d bring you a moment of Zen; take a deep breath and tell yourself, “It’ll be okay.”
Have a Merry (or Happy for my UK friends) Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Nullius in Verba 
Thanks, Norm. Lovely photo. Deep breath taken.
I had a similar shopping experience in Oxford Street on Friday, failing to buy Minty a last-minute Rubik’s cube (though I was on my bike, so could at least escape the hordes quickly).
Happy Christmas to you and Mary!
Lexi
Yep,
Nice moment of zen. I can tell you miss the Daily Show same as me.
We sell massage chairs at my store. Every year at this time people collapse into them, declaring that they are worn to a frazzle from a tough day of shopping. Usually these are women who live for shopping, regard shopping as the ultimate high. And yet they like to go on and on about how exhausting the whole process is. And for some reason they always think I care, that, I should sympathize. Like working 12-14 hour days schlepping boxes, running from one end of the store to the other, enduring abusive idiots and cleaning up after folks who seem to think it is their duty to wreck anything they are standing next to is some sort of walk in the park compared to SHOPPING.
I will take the moment of zen to work with me in my mind. Perhaps I will not kill anyone.
If so, you will have done a great disservice to humanity. Whoever I would otherwise have snuffed would, I am sure, have deserved it.
Jingle bells,
Jingle bells,
Etc, etc, and so on
And yet it is all worth it when I come home to my family. Go figure.
Alan
Lexi,
Try giving Minty a subscription to a magazine. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Alan,
Try deep autogenic breathing.
Merry Christmas to you all.
Poor Alan. My old Ma always said to us, ‘Don’t go into retail!’
(She didn’t know about jewellery, so she couldn’t tell me not to go into that).
I did feel, in Hamleys, that the shop workers might be having a worse time than the shoppers.
Next time a customer complains about the rigours of shopping, try saying ‘Diddums!’
On second thoughts, better not, you don’t want to have to be a full-time upper storey burglar to support the family.
Ho ho ho! and so forth…
Lexi