Christmas Spirit Again

My Christmas spirit comes and goes. Yesterday it "went" several times, but was restored. I had a few errands to run in town yesterday and was going to do some "un-rushed" shopping. The temperature here in OK did not get above 30, but that did not bother me. I just bundled up – it reminded me of my days in NM. In fact, I kind of like the cool air on my face when the rest of me is warm. There was a moment in a public restroom when I had to peel off all my warm layers, and then put them right back on, which was a hassle, but it was another reminder of my skiing days in NM. At least I was not wearing stretchy ski pants, which in a small restroom stall can bedevil a contortionist.

My first errand was to drop off the last of my belated Christmas cards at the post office. I just wanted to drive through and poke my mail in the box. I had followed a slow moving truck for several blocks, but that was not a problem. The problem came when we got to the front of the post office. The Duncan post office was busier than usual and most of the parking spots were full. But people are constantly coming and going, so it is not usually a problem. Most people who cannot find a parking spot, just swing around (the street is very wide and accommodating) and park on the opposite side of the street. The person in the truck just came to a complete stop in the middle of the street to wait on a parking spot. I hate when people do this in a parking lot much less in the middle of the street. There was plenty of parking spots – just not directly in front of the PO. Gee, you would think taking a few extra steps would be a hardship, and if it is that difficult, get a handicapped sticker. The truck in front of me sat there making it impossible to go around, but waiting on the "perfect" parking spot. Gee, could they not circle the block. Cars were lining up behind me, but then they started turning off and going another way or parking further away from the front door of the PO. I just wanted to drive around to the far side of the PO and drop my one letter off, but the "Oblivian" in front of me made me a bit crazed.

I got over my mad fairly quickly by going to the office where my son works. The GGs were about to make an appearance there – so I waited on them. GBN1 came sneaking in to surprise her daddy, but she was surprised when she rounded the corner and saw me. She ran and jumped catching me around the waist with her arms and wrapping her legs around my legs. She just hung there hugging me. Ahhh, Christmas spirit restored!

After visiting with the GGs for a while, I met Toby and Jesse for lunch – very pleasant. Then I went to Wal-Mart. I know: what was I thinking? You are probably already shaking your head. It really wasn’t so bad. There were more people in Wal-Mart than actually live in Duncan. Where do these people come from? I ran into so many people whom I knew, it was impossible to get my shopping done quickly. I laughed when one friend asked me if I had to park at the library and walk to Wal-Mart. Truthfully, the people and the parking did not bother me. I was ready and willing to deal with the hassle. But there seems to be something at Wal-Mart that makes a person lose their mind. The minute you walk through the doors, your mind goes blank. You wonder around the store forgetting your purpose. You have to cross the store several times because they put some baking things on the grocery side of the store, but not throw-away pie plates. You must go to the kitchen aisle on the other side of the store for that. I lost track of time. Even my list did not make sense anymore. I lost my purpose. I bought a Diet Pepsi on my way out hoping that I would be restored to normalcy. I did have this thought as I drove out of the parking lot: why do we need to torture detainees at Guantanamo? We should just line up the detainees and run them through the front doors at a Wal-Mart. Their minds would be erased. They would lose their purpose. All would be well. Either that or they would go home and blow themselves up.

When I got home, Jesse had bought cheap tie-dye kits for us to tie-dye socks for silly Christmas presents for the cousins. The kits came with dye, rubber bands, and gloves. The gloves were cheap and useless. Our fingers are now dyed making it look like we have recently been fingerprinted. We made some ugly socks, and had a great time. It may be our new Christmas tradition.

Jesse Story: Jesse said, "I’m going to make origami socks." She pronounced it more like "aragami." I thought, "Hmm, how is she going to make her designs look like folded animals?" She began making intricate, colorful, diamond shapes on the socks. It made me laugh – she meant "argyle" socks.