When I think of the holiday season, the images that pop into my mind are Christmas trees, stockings, family and of course, food. I think of happy things like Buddy the elf eating maple syrup and snowball fights. It seems as though it would be absolutely impossible to be in a bad mood this time of year, right? Wrong!
This time of year has me in my own little bubble of bliss. Apparently other people in the world do not have the bubble, or it has been brutally popped.
I work at Famous Footwear, and never in my life have I been insulted multiple times in a row and gotten eyes rolled at me, as much as I have in the last month. A majority of the customers this time of year are coming in and shopping for the perfect Christmas present in the form of a pair of shoes.
I now visibly cringe when I can’t find the correct size of a shoe that a customer wants. I know this close to Christmas, the answers, “We don’t have that here,” or “There is nothing more I can do to help,” are inexcusable answers.
The moms with children’s Christmas lists in hand might as well be shooting laser beams at me with their eyes with the look that I get when I utter any phrases even remotely negative.
This is nothing compared to what I witnessed at Home Depot one afternoon. Amidst the giant tacky inflatable snowmen and the blindingly colorful Christmas lights, two adults stood in the aisle yelling about which one of them needed the last faux mini Christmas tree on the shelf. It was an ugly little red monstrosity, but obviously it was the object between life and death for these two soccer moms. Soccer mom #1 exclaimed that she had gotten there first, therefore it was rightfully hers. Soccer mom #2 retaliated by saying she had been looking for this tree for the past two weeks therefore it would be going home with her. I was getting ready to go grab a tub of popcorn and a soda to watch the show when a manager came and calmed the pair down. I never did see who got the little red Christmas tree.
What I’m trying to say is that Christmas is not about shoes or little red Christmas trees. It is about something so much more than that. What, you may ask? That is for you to decide. In the famous words of Buddy the Elf, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!”