Every year seems to get shorter and shorter. Feels like just yesterday the temperatures were in the 80s, actually, they were just a few weeks ago, and now I’m dragging out Christmas boxes.
There’s no slow build-up to the holidays when you’re in retail. One day you’re dusting off pumpkins, and the next, it’s full-blown Christmas whether you’re ready or not. Boxes everywhere, garland tangled, and lights that worked perfectly last year now refusing to turn on.
Justin rolls his eyes when he sees the first red ribbon come out, but he knows it’s coming whether he likes it or not. For retailers, Christmas isn’t the cozy, cocoa-sipping season everyone else gets. It’s long days, sore feet, and endless “where did we put that display” moments. We love the spirit of it — we really do — but we also feel the weight of it. The exhaustion, the pressure, the late nights. Christmas, for us, isn’t rest. It’s survival mode… with twinkle lights.
Still, every year, once I plug in that first working strand of lights, something inside me softens. Maybe it’s habit, or maybe it’s that deep-down reminder of why I started all this in the first place. When the store glows just right and the first Christmas customer walks through the door smiling, I remember, it’s worth it.
There’s a quiet kind of beauty in those early mornings before the doors open and the chaos starts again. The smell of cinnamon candles, the coffee brewing, and the shelves lined with books that’ll end up under someone’s tree. That part still feels good. That part still feels like Christmas.
So yeah, I’m tired already, and it’s barely November. My hands are sticky from tape, my back’s sore, and there’s glitter on the floor. But the store looks beautiful tonight, and I know what’s coming, the busy days, the laughter, the familiar faces I’ve come to count on.
And that’s what keeps me going. Not the songs, not the sales, just the people.
– Gail