Combating Christmas Craziness

There were no carts in front of Costco today.

Usually, there are hundreds sitting in front of the store, waiting for customers, but today, they were all in use.

I took a deep breath and joined the stream of people entering the warehouse.

As I got close to the front door, the line of people was stopped by a screaming mother of two.

"You hit my ankle! Move your cart! You're hitting my ankle!"

The poor man behind her looked bewildered. Had his cart hit her ankle? Maybe. There were such throngs of shoppers, anyone's cart could have hit anything.

But this woman felt the need to stop everyone in their tracks and scream at this man and his shopping cart.

The tirade was stopped by a woman who said, "Wow, it's Christmas, you know."

As the line moved forward, I laughed and made a decision.

I am not, NOT going to complain about my blessings this Christmas!

Here's what I mean:

• I refuse to get stressed about last minute shopping. Instead, I'm thankful that I can afford to buy groceries for our Christmas Eve dinner.

• I refuse to get stressed about all the driving I have to do over the next few days. Instead, I'm thankful that my car is finally in great working order.

• I refuse to get stressed about working wild hours and singing Jingle Bells a hundred times. Instead, I'm thankful that I can make a living singing Christmas carols with my husband to people who appreciate what we do.

• I refuse to get stressed about having to balance visiting both sides of the family. Instead, I'm thankful that our families are healthy and living close enough that we can visit them easily.

So when I get that temptation to lean on my car horn, or push my cart in front of the woman who's taking forever to pick out a bag of potatoes, I'm taking a deep breath, saying a little prayer of thanks, and singing a Christmas carol to myself.... but not Jingle Bells!