Shopping with family is time for giggles and fun (11/27/06)

I suppose it is time to put the Halloween witches back into their box and replace them with a nativity set and a host of Santas, angels, penguins and elves. The witches are happy little creatures but their holiday is over and has been for a month. I don't think they would look right lined up behind a crèche. They might put a spell on the camel then how would the wise men get back home? There is only one camel. I have been searching for two more but none of the ones I find match the other one.

I seem to have caught some weird disease this year. I rarely decorate outside but this year I feel an overwhelming compulsion to decorate the outside trees. The little spruces have grown big enough to participate in the Christmas madness and are begging for ribbons and ornaments. They won't get lights no matter how much they whine because I don't want to spend the money on electricity. Maybe I can find something to appease them this weekend when I go shopping with my mom.

I really should start using barbells or something. Since Mom can't walk very far without being in pain we take her wheelchair with us when we go shopping. For some reason it gains weight in the trunk. The first time I put it in there it is relatively manageable. By the third or fourth time it gets hauled out it has gained at least 100 pounds and it is all I can do to lift the thing. Plus it doesn't help that the car has a mind of its own and raises the back end up just to make it even more difficult. I suppose it could be that I get shorter as the day goes on but I don't think that is possible. It is much more likely that the car and the wheelchair are in cahoots to make me feel like a puny little weakling.

I have a fairly good idea of the presents I am looking for. That usually means that I won't be able to find anything remotely similar to what I want. The best time to find exactly what I want is when I have no money and very little time. If I have money to spend then it will be like last weekend when I went shopping for a new T-shirt. I found several I liked but when I tried them on the middles were too small and the sleeves hung down to my knees. Who wears these things? Skinny gorillas?

Shopping with my mom is different than shopping with my daughter. I am in charge when Mom and I go out and I am expected to know exactly where everything is even if I have never been in that particular store before. When I go with my daughter, she is in charge and I have to struggle to keep up. When my daughter drives she invariably finds a parking space within inches of the entrance, while I have to circle the parking lot several times if I drive. After I find a space then I have to abandon it to let my mom off at the curb then go back and park the car and wrestle with the wheelchair. We rarely remember that blue hangtag that would let us park in the handicapped space.

There are several things that are the same. It doesn't matter if I go with Mom or my daughter, they will always find somebody they know. But the best thing is that we have a ball when we shop. It doesn't matter if we buy anything or not. We giggle and carry on like a couple of laughing hyenas. People stop and stare at us but we go on having a good time.

I hope to get the majority of the shopping out of the way this weekend. There will always be one last present to buy on Christmas Eve. To me it is no fun to have everything done early. I like to stretch out the season as much as possible. If I can find a giant shoehorn that will allow me to get a wheelchair in and out of the car easily the trip will have been a success. If not, then just spending time with family will be enough.

By the way, if you see me pushing a wheelchair be sure to get out of the way. I don't steer very well.[[In-content Ad]]