I didn’t intend to be silent here since Sunday—but it has been a busy week. I’m trying to get as much done for Christmas as I can, as well as pre-company cleaning, before my oldest son gets here this weekend. That way I can relax and enjoy his time here as well as the time the rest of the family has off.
But I enjoy stopping a moment with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to recount the blessings of the week.
1. Running into old friends. We visited a new-to-us church Sunday and ran into some folks from our church in SC before we moved here 12 years ago. We didn’t know they had moved to the area. It was fun to catch up.
2. A cheerful encounter in an unlikely place. Walmart is (in)famous for only having two checkouts open. I waited patiently in line until the older couple before me bought their purchases. As the older man was putting his change back in his wallet, he told a funny anecdote from “back in the day.” Somehow he turned to me and included me in the story as well. There were two girls at the register (one in training, I guess), and we all laughed. His story only took seconds and didn’t hold up the rest of the line. As he moved on, the lighthearted conversation and laughter continued through my transaction. Funny how one small moment and short encounter can brighten everyone’s day.
3. A return pick-up. One of my online purchases arrived with both the wrong type of item and wrong size. As I initiated a return on the store site, one of the options was to have Fed-Ex pick up the item at my house. That sounded a lot simpler for a busy week than my having to go stand in line at a post office. There was one small glitch when they called me to say the driver had come to the door but didn’t get an answer (while I was in the shower at 8:30 because the notification said he would come after 9…). They offered to reschedule for the next day, but I asked if there was any way possible someone could come back the same day. There was, and he did.
4. Christmas activities clicking along. Cards addressed and mailed, most presents wrapped, a few of the family cards made, cleaning today (Thursday) and tomorrow, big grocery shopping outing Friday. I’m not quite as far along as I’d like to be. But I’ll have some time next week to finish.
5. Sunshine. It has been mostly rainy or overcast for the better part of the last two weeks. I’m glad the temperatures have been in the 40s and 50s so we haven’t had ice and snow. I’m fine if it snows Christmas day or after, but hopefully it won’t before. 🙂 It was so good to see the sun out today.
I hope your Christmas preparations are going well and you’re having some quiet reflective moments about the season as well as some merry ones.
Stray Thoughts 
My first snow day is today yet it’s not snowing!! hahah. Almost every school and preschool/college is closed in NY due to an impending storm. So far we have had just some freezing rain as of 8 am this morning as I type this. I’m glad you had some sunshine. We’ve had temps in the 20s but SUNSHINE which I love. Until today. very bleak. Good day to read the Scriptures and reflect while doing some XMas baking.
How fun to catch up with old friends at your new church!
Sounds like you have had a good week of special blessings. Enjoy the time with your oldest son.
Sounds like a busy and good week! Enjoy your time together once your oldest arrives home; mine comes next week 🙂 So neat too that you could reconnect with old church friends, and I enjoyed the pleasant chance exchange in Walmart. I’ve had moments like that too; they’re really nice!
I love that #1 fave — how fun that you got to reconnect.
We need all the lightheartedness we can find, especially in the retail environment! Sounds like you’ve got all the preparations well planned with good progress thus far. Hope the weather cooperates.
It sounds like you have been busy! And how exciting to run into old friends! I had a similar experience in Aldi this week with an older gentleman who just seemed chatty. He remarked on how much prices had increased even for the simple things. It was one of those “In my day. . .” conversations and although I was in a hurry, this slowed me down. It was one of those things we need sometimes to get us to relax and enjoy what’s going on around us. I’m glad that Fed Ex came the second time that day. Enjoy your time with Jeremy! And Merry Christmas.
You were lucky with your parcel collection. I finally got a delivery today at the third attempt thanks to the snow we had this week. Sounds like a good week though. Hope your son arrives safely and you enjoy your time with him.
I love how you found the good in such simple things like a conversation in the checkout line at Walmart. It is so good to see the positive in everyday occurrences. We have had a snow and Cold week. There is about a foot of snow on the ground and the temps are way below freezing. No warm up at all until next week at the earliest. Brrr! I hope you have a good weekend.
I bet hearing that older man speak reminded you of the good spirit of Christmas. I think meeting up with old friends also brightened up your day. I have had good results with online orders and deliveries. The season is moving by way to fast and so busy!
Enjoy your time with your son. It sounds like the best part of your very full and busy holiday. The return of your parcel was a special blessing in this busy time. So grateful for companies that go the extra mile.
Good on you getting all your cleaning and chores done before your company comes.
Enjoy your time with family!
I love the interchanges that happen with strangers in line at store. If possible, I try to make the clerk smile and use their name.
And meeting old friends unexpectedly is always so fun.
Have a good weekend!
We’ve had a bit of snow and temperatures below freezing for the last week or so. I’m glad it’s finally beginning to thaw out now! I loved your description of the conversation in Walmart – those little moments are so special!
How fun to run into old friends from another state at a new church you were visiting! Good for you for getting everything done that you need to do. I am so behind I’m to the point of trying not to even think about it. It is absolutely frigid here (-18*F feels like -29*F. Last night was about -38*F) so going out to do errands is taking a lot of effort on my part to work up the motivation. The Walmart encounter sounds fun.