I'm not sure why it still surprises me every single year... But every year (and seemingly earlier and earlier), our retail establishments are so ready to rush thru whatever the current holiday is coming up and get to the next one. Are we that bored and that rabidly impatient that we can't ever seem to enjoy what is upon us? We always want what's next? Halloween is this coming Sunday. As I walked in to Family Dollar in Midland--there was a small stand of Halloween stuff--and then aisles and aisles of Christmas stuff:

A COUPLE OF SCARY MASKS AND A SMALL STAND OF SOME FUN STUFF FOR HALLOWEEN:

AND THEN THE JUMP RIGHT PAST THANKSGIVING STRAIGHT TO CHRISTMAS:

And it's not just the smaller stores doing it. It's the big retail giants too. I needed a spray nozzle to connect to my hose because when we moved, the one we had got broken in the move--to water the tree on my front lawn. So I went to Walmart because I couldn't find one anywhere else--and when you first walk in, there are a few aisles dedicated to Halloween--so they get more credit than most because there were aisles of candy and aisles of costumes... This is what you see when you first walk in:

Which is great. But then you turn to the right to go to Lawn and Garden... And walking down the first aisle of the store in Midland--this is what you see:

That's the entry to Lawn and Garden--or should I say, on October 25th--the Christmas-filled "Joy Shop". Some of you may be thinking "Well what's with the guy who wrote this article? He's a Scrooge!". Believe me--I *LOVE* Christmas as much as the next person. Maybe even a little more. What I don't love is fast-forwarding thru the holiday of candy and fun and Trick Or Treating with the kids and then enjoying Thanksgiving and having family around the table with great food... THEN we can talk about Ho Ho Ho. But instead, the world seems to see it differently. At least--the RETAIL world does. Some of what you see past the doorway of the Joy Shop:

I'm going to wrap this up for now. I still have to go shopping for my Halloween costume. Maybe I'll buy a Santa suit and go to the Halloween Party we've been invited to as Jolly Old Saint Nick--save myself a second trip to the store.