Christmas is approaching at a rate of knots that would out sprint Australia II over the line. Isnt that scary? I have no idea when I will be honoured with the opportunity to get to the shops and think about if or what I should be buying people.

Now isnt that the pits? It must be the same time every year that I sit down and think that I must organise myself a little better so that I wont be sitting down 4 days to Christmas and wondering why I haven't even thought about Christmas presents. It is a vicious cycle and I only have myself to blame, once again. However, I guess its more due to not wanting to fall into the commercial scene of "having" to buy Christmas presents for people who are close to me.

But come Wednesday or Thursday I will be setting out to do it..... full of hate and resentment for all those others who are standing in the air conditioned comfort of Myer at Toowoomba.

But what is it about Christmas that turns normally rationally, sane people into maniacs come this time of year. Perhaps everyone is like me..... put it off, put it off and put it further off until you have to do something about it or dont do anything at all.

What is it about Christmas that turns Parking areas into a battlezone? Forget about the Christmas cheer, cause there is none there mate. Its survival of the fittest, the fastest and the biggest 4WD bumper bar. My poor little Pulsar doesnt stand a chance!

Once you get a parking space (which will take you at least 45 mins if you are lucky!), then its up into the shopping mall with all the other crazies who have been sitting on their bum and thinking about Christmas for the last 3 months.

Then when you have dragged your weary butt through every store twice looking for something mildly interesting for Great Aunt Kay, its nearly closing time and you have to suffer a gift voucher from the first store you entered 5 hours ago. AAAArgh!

Oh and dont forget that you HAVE to have your gift covered in the best wrapping paper and ribbons and bows that money can buy, its back to Crazy Clarks so that you can get some good cheap paper for $2.50 a roll.

By this stage your arms are full to falling off. Your fingers are red and numb from the weight of the bags inside bags full of goodies. Your stomach is beating out Beethovens 18th trying to get your attention. Your eyes are tired from all the a/c. Your feet are screaming with tiredness and its as much as you can do to put one in front of the other. And what have you achieved? A very worn out credit card, endless amounts of money out of the savings (hah! what a joke that name is..... it should be the "spending account") account and one very, very tired Human Being.

And the upside to all of this is????

I dont know (after all of that).

Christmas used to be a very happy time for me as a kid growing up with my mother and father and 3 older brothers. Lots of very good memories about our time decorating the tree, who was buying what for whom, wondering why my present from my eldest brother rattled when shaken, mum slicing the leg of ham for ham on toast for Christmas breakfast.

Out came the chocolate nuts and lollies.... mum in the kitchen cooking a baked dinner even though it was going to be 38 deg c. Basically it was a day for our family to be together. We always had a few hanger-onerers... but it was just a good day to be with your family.

These days my family structure is a little different... and Christmas day will be very different for me as I will be seeing one of my brothers that i havent seen in 10 years. Its interesting how times change and families drift apart. Not because of any reason in particular, but because family members take different paths that lead to different places.

While Iam not really looking forward to Christmas and all that it represents , what Iam looking forward to is finding something from the Christmas of old.

Family.

Merry Christmas everyone.