Holiday Shopping

I have finished a large portion of my holiday shopping. "Demon!" you might say, "but it's only October!" I know, I know. But let me explain. The holiday time is normally very stressful for me, for various reasons. However, I have decided that since this is most likely the last holiday season I will spend with my families I am going to make every effort to make it as stress-free as possible. Hence the early shopping.

I've also decided that if people want J and I to have two Thanksgivings on one day halfway across the state from each other then so be it. They set the times, we load up the car and the puppy and we're there. And if they insist that we "stay over" - hey, it's only one night, right? I will just smile and remember that all of these annoyances will probably be missed next year when I'm far away in another state. Of course J will be there, whether he moves with me or flies out, and we can start new holiday traditions that don't involve us driving hundreds of miles or sleeping in little tiny guest beds.