Christmas before Thanksgiving

Yesterday I went to the post office. For several reasons, a few moves a couple years ago, leaving the country for 3 months last year, etc, I use a PO Box rather than a physical address. It's also handy because I don't need to check my mail every day or worry about theft. There's also the fact that the post office is right next to Target. Need I say more?

The holiday season has begun at work. Toward the end of the year a lot of people tend to have extra time off work. They've also frequently met their insurance deductibles, which means that it becomes a good time to get that nagging knee, shoulder or carpal tunnel taken care of. That means that during a time of year when most people are getting time off from work or school, an outpatient surgery center kicks into high gear. It was a long, busy week. I got off work yesterday and was just worn out.

Before going home I decided I should go to the post office to see if there were any bills that needed tending. I had also placed an order or two, so I was curious if they had come. It felt like Christmas had arrived early!!! Well, at least the opening packages part of Christmas. That really is not what Christmas is all about. Maybe I should say it felt like my birthday had arrived early. Anway....there were no bills! Not one! There was one letter with some results from bloodwork I had drawn over a month ago. The results were good. That was the first part that eased some of the fatigue of the week. Then came the packages....

I got a new bathing suit. Let it suffice to say that I'm pretty excited to say that I've been swimming laps enough this year to wear out a bathing suit. If the new one took too many more days I was going to get removed from the Y for indecency. Next in the bos was my brother's birthday gift. I'm pretty sure that I'm as excited about his gift as he will be. The next package was a CD. There was a Christmas tape our family had when I was young. I've made at least two copies over the years because I loved it so much that I didn't want to be without a copy if the tape ever unraveled. I had looked online and even called the number on the website for the recording. "Sorry. You can only purchase that recording as a cassette or an album. We've had requests for CDs, but we will not be making any." Poo! Well....a week or so ago, I was looking for something else on Amazon and lo and behold, there was my Christmas CD. I don't know what made the difference, but apparently they finally got around to changing their minds about making a CD. It cost $23.99 for that CD. I'm certain I've NEVER paid that much for a CD. I wasn't sorry a bit. I figure if we work lots of extra hours around the holiday a treat is warranted. My family doesn't know it yet, but their copies are on the way to their houses!

Thanksgiving is coming. Yesterday it felt like Christmas had come before Thanksgiving this year. Not only because I got a few packages, but also because I love the carols on the CD I got. By the time my trip to the post office was over I forgot all about my tired feet and need to unwind. I love that little things can still be such a boost. I saw a quote a couple days ago that said that happiness is enjoying the little things. It's true.