Beating the Holiday Rush

Whew! What a day! This past week has just been crazy! I've been working with my family at Dillard's fragrance department selling perfumes and such all week and let me tell you...after walking around for hours on end over a hard tile floor with billions of scents in the air (and on your hand) it's enough to make a person go crazy! You encounter all types of people; people who are very rude and forward with you, people who are kind and sweet, and people who don't even speak english (which makes it very hard to tell what they want). On top of all of that, they come in bunches. The mall will seem dead and empty....then BAM! there are about 50 people in fragrance wanting help and prices on gift sets. There wouldn't be a problem with this, except my family works specifically for the Ralph Lauren/Armani company and we don't ring customers up for a sale. Usually there are only 1 or 2 girls with us who can so pandemonium ensues and no one is very happy about waiting. Then.....just like that....they're all gone, leaving our cases empty and bare. By the end of the day, that's just about what I feel like from working...like I have no energy left an no desire to do anything but zone out (and maybe blog a bit ;) ) Focusing on sales and trying to be the best sales rep I can kind of shove aside what Christmas is supposed to be about and what a happy and joyous time it's supposed to be. God always sends a few things to brighten my day though :) The other day there were 2 squirrely little boys that had come with their mom. At the check out I thought it'd make their days to have a little chocolate and so I grabbed 2 from behind the counter and walked over. I held one in each hand, a red wrapped one and a green one, and asked if they'd like some candy. They both immediately went for the green one...the younger brother got it and the older got kinda sad/mad and said "I wanted the green one!" The younger brother looked stubborn for a second and then quickly gave his brother the green candy and took the red one. I was amazed to see this behavior from such a young kid! He must have only been 5. It gave me hope for America's future that this little boy would be so willing to put away his own selfishness and look to his brother's interests first. I know you may be thinking "come on...it was just a chocolate...exactly like the other one...I see no significance in this" but no matter how small the act was, the little boy still put his brother first. This combined with seeing a precious little boy run around behind the fragrance counter with a huge smile on his face really made me smile.

Today I had a huge surprise. I got to see one of my best friends from high school who ran away the day after graduation. After a summer of little to no contact with her, I learned that she had come home again in October and soon after, learned that she was pregnant. Seeing her looking healthy and happy really just made my day. She told me that she was due in March and that she was having a baby boy. :) Although I may not approve of everything she's done in her life, I still love her very much...nothing could ever change that...and I'm glad she's home safe and sound with her family and realized that she couldn't have led a very happy or easy life without her loving parents or her Heavenly Father there to guide and help her.

It's days like this where I look around and realize how blessed I am. I have a very loving family who would do anything for me and who loves spending time together, fantastic friends, a great college and opportunity to gain as much knowledge as I can for the real world, and many more. Above all, I have an awesome and powerful God who will never stop loving me and will never stop loving you.

So as you run out to buy that last minute Christmas gift, make sure you share a friendly smile with the cashier or maybe treat them nicer than you usually do (I mean let's face it, they've probably had just as stressful a day as you). Because the truth is, you have been blessed. Even if you don't always see it, God has a plan for you and has blessed you greatly. I mean really, how else do you have the luxury to get out and drive to the local mall or Walmart, walk around in comfy clothing that is also warm in the cold winter's air, and purchase items of a range of costs, not to mention wrapping said items and placing them under the heavily decorated tree, and open the same type of presents on Christmas morning? Even if you're day is stressed and you just feel down with the Holiday blues...remember: God has blessed you :)


p.s. I know this blog was kinda random and all over the place...sorry about that :) Having 20 billion fragrances in the air for hours kinda confuses your brain and makes your head hurt :)