I'm not quite sure why my type-A personality doesn't extend to my holiday gift-buying tendencies.  It's just about this time of year, while planning Thanksgiving (this year, for 14 instead of our usual intimate six -- five of us plus my mom), that I realize I haven't bought a thing and I'm running out of time. About 6 weeks and counting...fast! Part of it is financial.  I keep waiting for a little "surplus" one month before I start shopping.  Sometimes, that surplus never materializes.  Other years, I'm just late.

Today I made "the list."  Ugh.  The high priestess of lists actually met a list she didn't like: the holiday shopping list.  It usually involves visiting way too many strip malls and specialty stores -- specialties I usually know nothing about.  My kids like to be "surprised," so they rarely give me suggestions.   Must I be a mind reader, and Connie Consumer?

Of course, as much as I "Bah Humbug!" the year end's inevitable retail insanity, I remind myself it's all worth it when I see my loved one's expressions while opening their gifts.  Their joy even trumps holiday parking.