My main objective of being a nanny this week was getting my kid's house decorated for Halloween. How difficult that turned out to be almost seemed like a joke. It took multiple stops at an array of stores and a lot of "Rose, WHY is there only Christmas stuff out? It's HALLOWEEN." before we found anything to put up. Finally, my nanny child and I found decorations about an hour into our search at Big Lots.

After explaining to her that Christmas was the next big holiday and that the people who ran the stores felt like they needed to start selling decorations now (and how ridiculous it was). As inconvenient as it is to my internal sense of what season it actually is, I'm already thinking a lot about what I am going to get people for Christmas for the sake of being cost-effective. Before October even started, Christmas-themed items began sneaking into displays pretty much everywhere. The store I work at had all of us sign a paper stating that we would follow "winter and holiday dress code" starting the day after Halloween (well, this is New Orleans and temperatures are resting in the 80's at the moment). I do often find myself lusting after sweaters that I will never be able to practically wear that we carry in the store. We're selling a shirt right now with a beaded Christmas ball on it. Though it's cute, it's also October.

I guess the feelings I have right now about holidays and seasons are skewed. It used to be very concrete, and now I don't feel like I'm getting enough time to celebrate one thing before it becomes time to start stressing out about a whole new occasion. I can't be the only person who feels this pressure. Anyone who consumes goods in modern society should be able to pick up on what is being pitched. We are shown the perfect item that we need, and we decide that we need it right now. We can get it in a snap as opposed to waiting for Santa Claus to bring it.

I am a person who wants to enjoy each season and its holidays for what they are meant to be. I love Christmas, but Halloween is one of my very favorites, and I feel like going to the store right now is detracting from my pure enjoyment of it. I want to stretch out every possible good moment and cherish it, and the premature influx of December holiday retail is an unwelcome distraction.