Today I found myself in the uncomfortable position of being THAT customer.

You know, the whiny customer who, after having pursued an item in several stores, finally comes to the store that has THREE of said items left and whines and nags until she gets the overly gracious stockboy to check over the intercom, race to the stockroom, and have the precious parcel rudely snatched away by eager fingers that you would have thought had never in their life wrapped themselves around a Christmas tree base.

Seriously, people: when this scenario is playing itself around stores on DECEMBER SECOND, you know things are really bad.

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Whatever happened to the elegant custom of putting up the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve (you know, since it’s a CHRISTMAS tree) and then taking it down on Epiphany or the Feast of the Magi or Twelfth night or whatever you want to call it?  Every year the race to get the house decorated and keep one’s dignity seems to start sometime around Labor day and that is really rather unattractive and  uncomfortable.  And un-stuff.

Unattractive: I like red and green as much as anybody– in fact, possibly more than many people.  But I don’t want to see the stuff for a whole sixth of a year, you know? 

Uncomfortable: Dead trees around Christmas day are not pretty and they can get moldy.  Those lights can hurt plants and hurt the environment, since they stay on so long.  Btw… we have LED lights on our tree.  Oooh….. pretty.  Yet weird.

Un-stuff:  If you’re decorating for Christmas so early, stores and consumers at large, how are we supposed to enjoy Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations… and stuff?   See?  I meant it when I said "stuff."

Anyway.  This is a long post because I can’t break the habit, and because I wanted to spread some early Ex-Mas cheer with you all since our tree is, in fact, up and we were able to avoid a no-tree-stand catastrophe!  Hooray!

Have a good beginning of the week, chitlins!