It’s already been a week of returning to the usual work vibes post-Daylight Saving Time’s end and I have to say that I’m managing it well enough.
My mom, on the other hand, is unhappy that it gets darker faster now.
In fact, she tells me so nearly every evening as the sun sinks below the horizon.
I’m all for the change of seasons and having nighttime come sooner than before.
After all, I work better at night when there’s no outside stimulus ruining my groove.
The only bonus I’ve gotten so far from turning my clocks back an hour is that mom seems less interested in decorating for Christmas lately.
Well, I say that, but at the very least, she’s stopped trying to persuade me to put up decorations.
Though I think I’m also going to credit that with our trip to the Houston Ballet’s “Nutcracker Market” being such a total letdown.
Let me preface this with the fact that going to the market has been on mom’s bucket list for over 34 years – longer than I’ve been alive, honestly.
We had high hopes for Christmas decorations, decorating ideas and were expecting vendors similar to Market Days here.
Sadly, it was largely full of boutique items – clothing, quick Christmas gifts for kids, and a few niche items.
Not to mention the longest lines were at cocktail stations and customers trying to snag their deals for decal-covered plastic cups.
Whatever winter wonderland that was advertised seemed lost in this consumerism-soaked nightmare.
We were expecting handmade ornaments or decorations with a chance to buy some gorgeous wreaths or swags or something!
Sadly, there was nothing like that for sale, though the vendor booths seemed filled with them as their own personal decorations and not anything for sale.
Maybe I was wrong for expecting something magical or inspiring – something to excite me and give me a reason to cave into mom’s Christmas decorating wishes.
But, nothing like that happened and I just couldn’t wrap my mind around how uncoordinated everything was.
Plus, the other customers were pretty rude, too.
There was plenty of shoving, people ran into us and basic manners went out the window.
It really just reminded me of the worst Black Friday sales events in one huge, convention center and wine-soaked experience.
I think the highlights of our adventure were the rides to and from our parking spot and the breath of relief when we finally got out of there.
Well, that and we did get a few bags of flavored bread that used a bottle of beer to bake with – stocking stuffers for my siblings that were original and a surprise.
With the Nutcracker Market being such a depressing event, we headed to Craftex for Christmas inspiration and were rewarded for our suffering earlier in the day.
We were pleasantly surprised and definitely awestruck at the sheer volume of Christmas decorations and crafting supplies available to us at Craftex.
I had to hold mom back from buying everything she saw and spent over an hour giving my opinion on ribbon choices along with bejeweled faux poinsettia flowers before we settled on something we both liked.
Plus, I got a sequined clip-on owl decoration that I’m going to put in various places around the house to see if mom can find it.
Mostly because I enjoy the mischief and partially because I have to find some way to get back at her for making me spend an entire day on Christmas things before Thanksgiving.
What else can I say - I’m a stickler for tradition!
