Christmas Magic

     I recently went to Portland to do my Christmas shopping and get it all done in one fell swoop.  When I arrived, I checked into my hotel, and immediately darted off to the mall.  After a little directional problem given to me by the front desk clerk (sending me 40 minutes in the wrong direction) I arrived only to find I had forgotten the magic of Christmas.
     Entering the mall through a very large department store, I was reminded about the one liner from Legally Blonde "the land of the free gift with purchase", after making a sale I went into the mall.  I actually stood there completely mesmerized.  All the hustle and bustle and the decorative lights, everyone appropriately gloved and towing their scarfs.  I walked through the mall, unable to stop smiling, and stopped here and there, looking for deals and thinking of my family and friends.  At some point a choir begun to sing carols, and I listened for a moment but kept referring back to my mental checklist of items that I still needed to get. 
     After a few hours of this, I began to feel like I was on a very high mountain, and I am not talking about a good thing here.  The air felt thin, used, like it was recycled by a hundred other people.  I was walking next to a friend and I know they were talking to me, but I couldn't here the words they were saying.  Hundreds of people were walking this way and that way and bumping into me and my bags were heavy and giving me a serious case of tennis elbow.  I started to get a headache (probably from lack of oxygen) which was only getting worse by all the damn lights. 
     Needless to say that I was able to make it back to the car, and load the rewards of my labor.  Back at the hotel I went through and retallied my checklist, and realized I had to go back the next day.  This was ok as I had time to recover. 
     The magic I found was not in the hunt for the greatest deal, or the nostalgia of all the decorations, or even listening to the choir belt out the carols that are so traditional. 
     The magic is when I arrived home with my loot in tow and my husband leaned in, gave me kiss and said "missed you babe".  For me, thats what its all about,  great family, great friends and great health.  So another year survived, family is happy and healthy.  Life is sweet.