Anticipation by Bea Tifton

 My mother and I went to a department store last week. I needed some jeans and we were already out, so she came along. The store was already decorated for Christmas. I don't mean just that they were selling Christmas inspired clothing; the store had garlands hanging and ornaments strewn about. In a clothing store. Really.  

Now, I can understand having some Christmas items in craft stores because crafts take time. But stores get Christmas inventory so early now that this summer birthday baby could go shopping for Christmas decorations if I wanted to do so. But I don’t.

I don’t want to sound like a 100 year old curmudgeon raising my cane and yelling, “You kids get off my lawn.”  But I have an issue with our instant gratification, modern times.

When I was a kid, (here we go), stores were closed on Thanksgiving. But on Black Friday, the department stores had been magically transformed into a wonderland. (I’m sure the poor employees had to show up at 5:00 in the morning to accomplish this, but I was a child and didn’t realize.) We walked around the stores, reverently oohing and ahhing at the decorations and the holiday merchandise. And only then did the stores pipe Christmas carols into the air.

My mother would take us to downtown Dallas, where each shop window had elaborate displays. It was so much fun peering into store windows, each more elaborate than the last.

I have fallen into the instant gratification trap as much as anyone.  I mean, I love having things delivered right to my front porch. And I live in a booming city where anything I want to buy or eat is readily available. But Christmas in July? I don’t think so.

What made Christmas so special was the anticipation. The waiting. Imagining what we would see and where we would find it. Knowing that the decorations and the music were truly seasonal and the magic would only be available for a limited time. And I think that’s what we’ve gotten away from in our instant gratification society, what younger people never get to experience, and what I miss.

Just so I’m clear. I won’t be putting my tree up, having my house strung with multicolored lights, or drinking eggnog until after Thanksgiving. I realize the rest of the country will already be celebrating. But I think I’ll wait. I’m so looking forward to it. 

 Photo Credits:
Pavel Danilyuk (Pexels) "Woman in Orange Crew Neck Long Sleeve Shirt Feeling Surprised"
John Boyd (Wikimedia Commons) "Children Looking at Toys in Window" 
Vikky Trifonova (Pexels) "A Girl Posing at the Camera"
Anna Shvets (Pexels) "A Woman Holding a cup of Coffee While Sitting Near the Christmas Tree"