Holiday cheer

I am looking forward to this holiday season. For a couple of reasons. Now you might think, “Who isn’t excited?” Normally, it would be me. After working about 12 years in retail, the holiday season is one of the busiest and stressful times of the year. Especially when you are middle management.

It starts when your store begins to get an influx of product in late October and early November. In off-price retail, the goal is to get all of the merchandise out of the warehouse and onto the sales floor. So, you just “cram” it out and display as good as possible. Then there is the late night on Wednesday to finalize everything before “Black Friday”. In off-price retail, the store is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.

Thanksgiving is a good day with family and friends. But you are always thinking about the next day and the impending busyness. Everybody works on “Black Friday”. And from then until Christmas Eve, your life consists of long hours, six-day workweeks, irritable customers (some, not all, but the irritable ones are usually the loudest), exhausted associates, and stress. By the time Christmas rolls around, you are tired, spent, and sometimes a little sick. Don’t get me wrong, the retail business has some great points and moments, but the holiday season is a busy blur.

This year, however, I am not working. So the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas will be different and “normal”. Even though we have little money, I am still looking forward to it all. Like going and seeing Christmas lights. Like enjoying a Christmas play. Like listening to Christmas music. Like strolling through the mall shopping. Like drinking peppermint mochas and eggnog. Like remembering the reason, the birth of the incarnate God.

Another reason I am excited about this holiday is that we will be traveling to T.’s parents for Christmas. In retail, you get Christmas off but have to work the next day. You know, for all the returns. But this year we will be out of town for Christmas. And that hasn’t happened in years.

The exciting part is that we will be driving on Christmas Eve. The seven-hour drive eastward. I can imagine it now. The cold, crisp air chilling our nostrils. Snow will be falling as we get out of the car and rushing in to a restaurant to fill our bellies. The conversation we will have with the stranger sitting by himself at the counter warming his hands on his coffee cup. Oh, the stories he will tell us about his life and Christmases past.

Then there is the arrival at the house, seeing the decorated tree, Christmas music playing in the background as we sip hot chocolate before we put our son to bed so he can have visions of sugarplums. It is just like a made for TV movie.

That is how I will remember this holiday, no matter what happens.