Never before

I did something yesterday that I've never done before. I was up before dawn on the day after Thanksgiving to find a Christmas present for my wife.

I have to say, I have mixed feeling about the whole thing. There is a big part of me that has issues with this entire phenomenon. The fact that we need need police directing traffic at Best Buy at 5:45 a.m. is disturbing. So is the fact that people are waiting for more than 30 minutes to get into Circuit City long after the store is open. I'm not sure that I like what this has to say about the level of consumerism in our society.

And it's not the consumerization of Christmas that bothers me. Let's face it, in our society, Christmas is really two different holidays - a religious one to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and a secular one that is about giving presents to our friends, family and loved ones. The only thing that they really have in common is that they are both celebrated on December 25.

At the same time, not everybody who was out shopping early yesterday was simply trying to get as much stuff as they can buy. I know I wasn't. My wife has asked for just one thing for Christmas. It is something that is in high demand and low supply, and I thought that there was a very good chance that I would not be get it if I couldn't find it yesterday. So I got up at 5:45 a.m. on a day I didn't have to work in order to do something that will make my wife happy a month from now.

I have some issues with the type of shopping where the goal is to acquire as much stuff as possible. On the other hand, when the purpose is a display of love to someone you care about, I'm not sure that I can complain.