Today my wife and I went on an actual shopping trip that didn’t involve buying groceries. Our holiday-related trip consisted of a stop to make a purchase, a stop at the post office to send out four packaged, and a stop at Barnes Noble at the nearby mall.
For numerous years now, I have asked my wife for and received books for Christmas. This year, obviously, has been quite different from years passed. Neither of us had been in a bookstore in at least nine months.
This Christmas, I wanted to be able to go to the bookstore.
That in itself was a gift.
Happily, we were not there just to look at books or buy for others (we had already handled sending out gifts). We were there to buy books for ourselves, having decided to “gift” each other gift cards from earned rewards points from our rewards card.
I so enjoyed strolling down the aisle, looking at titles, flipping through a few pages at at time. There were a couple items that I though I should get… but when I checked in with myself, I realized I didn’t really want them. I asked myself, “Does this feel like a ‘hell yeah?'” As in, is this something I totally am behind? That made it very easy to pass up a couple options, and it clarified that I did want what I got.
I’m pleased to say that all three of the books I got were a hell yeah!
Also, as I walked out the door, I realized that I got one book by mistake. I had wanted “Into Thin Air” by John Krakauer and had gotten “Into the Wild” by John Krakauer instead. I promptly turned around and let them know I had mistake.
The people working there were very friendly, yet it took another fifteen minutes or so to sort things out. I got the book I actually wanted, and as I turned to leave, the woman working there apologized for the inconvenience of having to wait to exchange my book. I said, “It’s not problem. I’m just happy to be at a bookstore.”