a plan and a bag

I'm pretty good at setting goals, but not so good at reaching them. Actually horrible much of the time.

But as I looked over our calendar, I made a goal fueled not only by our schedule, but also by the experience of past Decembers ... frantic, lots-of-last-minute-shopping Decembers. No fun at all.

This year had to be different. For the first time in many years, my three sibs and I will be together with our dad in Nashville the weekend before Christmas. Then, the wonderful Haller-days begin when ALL my chickies and grand-chickies come back to roost for Christmas!

And so, I doggedly set out to finish most of my shopping by this weekend. And it looks like I will meet my goal. Folks, this is unprecedented! So much so, that I keep thinking Christmas is days away, rather than two and a half weeks from now.

My Christmas readiness took two simple steps.

1. A plan. I made a list of the gifts I intended to buy, grouped by recipients. I typed this up and PRINTED IT OFF, miracle of miracles. From that I could plan my targeted stores, or, best of all, late nights in jammies at the computer. Oh, thank you Lord, for giving someone the brain to create Amazon!

2. A bag. Then I saved ads and coupons, slipping them, along with my list, in a large plastic zip-loc bag. (Thank you Lord, too, for zip-loc bags.) I never left home without that bag. Let the sales clerks chuckle. Believe me, my Christmas shopping bag is invaluable for this slightly (?) disorganized shopper. I included a calculator, pen and extra paper for notes. A portable desk!

Go ahead and laugh, you never-procrastinators! And especially you grandmas who hit the January sales in preparation for Christmas! I've nearly accomplished the impossible and look forward to really and truly taking time to appreciate the greatest gift of all: God's love given to us.

Bless you in your preparations!