Bah Humbug!!

Although he won't freely admit it, my boyfriend is a Scrooge if there ever was one! I happen to LOVE Christmas. I LOVE buying gifts. I LOVE decorating the house and Christmas tree. I LOVE walking around saying, Merry Christmas!! As much as I enjoy Christmas and all that it means, my boyfriend feels the opposite. He hates the crowds of people, the hours of shopping and family gatherings.

Knowing all of this I offered to exclude him from my last minute-I-can't-find-it-on-line Christmas shopping at....drum roll...The Mall. I don't know what came over him but he offered to come with me last Wednesday. I asked again, are you sure Erik? There will be traffic and crowds, kids in strollers and happy faces wherever you go. Are you sure you can endure this? Yes, yes. I WANT to come with you. Great, I think. It'll be a miracle if we are still speaking to each other by the end of the night.

Our trip starts off great. We listen to Christmas songs on the radio on our way to the mall. We find a parking spot that is less than a mile away from the main entrance. The crowd isn't as bad as we had imagined. We go to the Bath & Body Works for my sister-in-law and I point out the things I would like (What row, what scent, what color those scents are, etc.). Things are going well. Until...we get to Mervyn's. I state that I need an hour. We debate on how much time this will take me. Back and forth we go like an auction. 20 minutes. Fine! I scurry around and grab presents. My resentment begins to build. I meet him, on time, at the calendars section.

Next, I need to go to Barnes & Noble for some gift cards and Toys R Us for my nieces. But first, I would like to get some food. My boyfriend is glad, as he is hungry too and we can finally stop shopping for a moment. I point out that there are many cuisine options at the Food Court upstairs. My boyfriend looks as though I have just suggested he eat rat poison. After a bitter exhange we leave the mall with empty bellies. I get in the car humming Christmas tunes with a look on my face that clearly states, "YOU have ruined my shopping trip and I wish you would not have come." In an eager attempt to set things right, Erik starts suggesting dinner options. Unfortunately, I've decided to be diffacult (I'm good at that) and state that I will simply eat something from the Chevron (jerky?) so that we can finish our shopping and go home!

Thankfully, we did finish our shopping and found a nice place to eat and kissed goodnight, still Friends. Amazing.