Well. I have been back in the Land of Plenty for nigh on a week.

I like to hit the ground running so on the first possible business day I went to a) the post office b) the dentist c) the department of motor vehicles and d) one of the many shopping centers in my parents' suburban town. I've also been to the doctor and gotten a haircut (this is a semi-annual maintenance visit, after all) and done more SHOPPING.

All this SHOPPING has me more than a little wigged out. For one thing, there are the stores themselves, giant Targets and Barnes and Nobleses, so shiny and clean, with wide, bright aisles full of stuff. My eyes glaze over and my mind kind of goes blank and an hour later I wake up at the checkout with a cart full of things I didn't know I needed. Or I freeze just inside the door, by the bargain rack, panic, and run out screaming.

Later, at home, as I'm wrapping present after present* I find myself fantasizing about the lives of a family we know of (relatives of friends), a family who lives off the grid in Northern California. Their children go to Waldorf schools and play only with handmade wooden toys. I'm think the parents are vegan. Some of you are rolling your eyes but I am telling you, it sounds pretty good to me right about now.

*I sort of hate wrapping presents, because a) I am not good at it and they come out lumpy and b) it is such a WASTE. It has always made me depressed, buying colorful paper and wrapping things in it, knowing that in a week the paper will be torn off and thrown away. Such a short, pointless life. When I was younger I used to carefully slice the tape off my gifts, remove the paper without tearing it, and and fold it for reuse. Now I'm trying to incorporate more reusable fabric packaging in my gift-giving.