Wow! What a busy week! It started out with a shopping trip with Daughter #1. I got a LOT of shopping for the kids done and a few of the grown-ups as well. We had a good time together too. After I made a usual trip to the grocery store, I was off for home.
The house needed a little picking up, etc., because my friends from KC were coming down Wed. am early. I knew I wouldn’t have a chance to clean Tues. because I would be gone from the house ALL day. And I was!
Tues. morning I was up at 3 am to be at work by 5 am. Then I worked till 2:00. At 3:00 hubby met me and we had to catch the bus to take us to Branson for supper at The Pasta House, then to see Andy Williams Christmas Show,
then to ride around Branson to see the Festival of Lights show.
It was almost 11 pm when we drove back into the garage to put the car to bed. Needless to say, I was ready for bed also!
The next morning, I was up at 6 am to shower and get ready for my friends. They got here right at 9 am, picked me up, and off to Branson we go. It was a terrible day, weather-wise, and it rained (one of those slow, all-day sprinkle-rains) all day.
We planned on going to the Branson Landing to shop. It’s an outside, open Mall. The first thing we did was get a HOT chocolate and cookie. Hugh cookie! I couldn’t even eat it all! The hot chocolate was delicious. It was just then 10:00 and the stores were beginning to open. I couldn’t believe that there wasn’t any shoppers! Then I realized, “Oh wait, it’s very cold, rainy, this is an outside mall, and yes, I think we are the nutty ones here!” Well, needless to say, we had the mall pretty much to ourselves. It was funny to see the salespeople come rushing up to us as soon as we entered the door to see if we needed any help.
In spite of the weather, we had a GREAT time! We shopped and shopped. We stopped at Joe’s Crab Shack for lunch. We shopped some more. I got a couple of Christmas gifts, but most of what I bought was for myself.
It was an “all about me” day. The girls and I acted like three teenagers and giggled and acted silly the whole time.
They really are a blast to be with! They got me back home by 6 pm and then had that two and a half hour trip back to KC. I felt sorry for them. But what a day! It was so fun.
I was off work the next day, thank goodness! I think I slept till almost 9:00! I didn’t do much that day except post my blog (from the week before — sorry it was so late), get my Christmas cards ready to mail, and of course, a little house cleaning. It was early to bed so I could get up at 3 am to go to work again!
After work that day, I went shopping again. OH MY GOSH! I will never do that again. I must have had a senior moment for sure. Here’s the scenario: It’s Friday. It’s rush hour. It’s the next to the last weekend before Christmas. It’s at the mall, the only mall in town, and the weather man is calling for a winter storm that will dump six to 10 inches of snow on us. WHAT WAS I THINKING???? Needless to say, I only went to one of the stores I was planning on going to and then to the grocery store to get a few things. When I got home, I wanted to bend down and kiss the ground!
The next two days was early days at work again. I planned on getting gifts wrapped after work, but it didn’t happen! All I did one night was sleep in my chair till time to go to bed early. Last night, was the finale of Survivor, my most favorite tv show of all time. It was two hours with an hour reunion show immediately afterward. I watched the whole thing and didn’t fall asleep not even once! (Well, I almost did once, but I caught myself just in time!)
Some sad news came to me Sat. morning. One of the grandsons of my oldest sister was killed. He was only 22 years old. I don’t know any of the details yet, but apparently he was living in Chicago. I didn’t even know that. Our family has drifted apart so much, that we don’t keep in touch with all of our relatives like we used to. What a terrible thing to happen and especially at Christmastime. I’m sure they were all making plans to get together. This should remind us that life and family are precious. We should never take it for granted. The little arguments and differences of opinions that we may have with each other are so minor when someone you love can be taken away from you in an instant. Take time from your busy last-minute plans to be thankful for the blessings of your family and friends.
This next week before Christmas will indeed be the busiest of all. I’m looking forward to it — I love all the hustle and bustle. But mostly I’m looking forward to all of us being together. It’s my favorite part of any holiday. Merry Christmas to all of you and may you have a wonderful holiday!
