I keep notes. Lots of them. At my age, if I intend to get anything done, I have to remind myself. Sometimes I enter a room, stop, and wonder: Why am I here? I know I’m there to do something, but what, exactly?
Back when we were in the retail business, we always made it a point to remind our customers to do their holiday shopping early. People are so predictable. They wait until the last minute to troop to the grocery, then complain about the crowds, the lines, the harried help, the sold-out items. The two days before Christmas and the new year are the absolute worst days for anyone to buy anything. But you already know this, don’t you? And yet I’m betting a whole lot of you will be queuing for the register come the 24th and the 31st, tired and testy. That’s if you’re not in the middle of some aisle with a lost/vacant stare. I know that look well. Your memory just crashed. Don’t worry, it will come back to you — probably while you’re stuck in traffic on the way home. I only pray it’s not the noche buena centerpiece you’ve missed.
It’s not too late. If you do your groceries today — tomorrow, even — the experience will be nowhere as maddening as it will be two, three days hence. I guarantee it. Make a list and check it twice. In fact, buy twice what you need, at least of vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, salt, sugar, cooking oil, bread, and rice. Same with pasta, tomato/spaghetti sauce, cheese, milk, breadcrumbs, flour, cornstarch, and ginisa mix. And your strong drink of choice. You will need it for when your legion of inaanak “just happen” to drop by. “Ninong’s smashed. Come back next year.”
Go early. Go now. Take extra bags. Make sure your credit/debit card’s in the clear. Be polite — say “thank you,” “excuse me,” and “please”: it just might get you that last box of crushed grahams that a worn-out but grateful clerk suddenly remembers is in the back room. Smile. And don’t forget that list. Do you still remember where you put it?
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