I can't count how many times I missed the opening of any Semi- Annual Sale...be it at Christmas or the Summer version. But I don't think it is too many. I am usually at the gate well before opening with a list in my hand ready to grab whatever I needed/wanted...and a bag in my hands when it goes up to add those few unexpected extras that I come across. Then it's down to Hobby Lobby for some of the clearance items and home for lunch.
That is not happening this time.... for a few reasons.
We are getting a huge snowstorm this afternoon that is going to dump a boatload of unwanted wintery mess everywhere in PA. I mean the heavy, slippery as all get go, Mess of freezing rain, snow, kind of North Pole of yuck. Can you tell I am not a Summer Girl or a Winter Girl? I am a Spring and Fall Girl.
The snow was set to start early today but is running a bit behind schedule, and if the wind chill is any indication as to what we are in for...we are in BIG trouble.
Baby, it's cold 😰outside doesn't even come close.
Another reason I am sitting out Day One in-store shopping:
Our area is really hit hard with the "wheel of viruses" currently going around, and you can take your turn (going out in public) and spin the wheel (get coughed on by inconsiderate people) and see just what version you can bring home to you and your loved ones. Hubby asked if we could sit this one out today and I agreed to stay home and catch up on all of the things we need to do.
We spent the past few days with my aunt at her home, bringing her dinners for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and tending to any help she needs. If you remember reading, she had a stroke in October and was set to go upstairs in the hospital to their incredible team of rehab professionals and for some reason, she didn't get to go. She has had a fear of ending up in a nursing home like her mom did as she got older and sadly after the denial of that rehab clinic, she was sent about an hour away to a rehab nursing home. That...was a disaster on so many levels. It is fair to say she refused every ounce of help, became more debilitated than when she went in, refused food, and in between bouts of screaming, cursing, and crying, she got her way and came home the Friday before Christmas.
With little to no health aide assistance, an inability to do the most basic of things for yourself, with limited visits from friends to help, I wonder how long this will work.
The drastic change that has happened in this once vibrant woman (my aunt and godmother) --- to the scared, timid, broken from the dehumanizing effect of relying on others for your mere existence in a place you can't ever leave --- all the while noticing how much of you is gone...viewing that....is heartbreaking.
Shopping:
This morning before opening, I made a quick order online for BOPIS. The cost of those items was much more than they are in store today, but I grabbed a few things before they were gone and will check out the site more later to see if I missed anything.
