I’ve seen a lot of stories and commentary about various aspects of this holiday season. These range from the sublime to the ridiculous. I’m going to share one of my own.

It all worked. It’s a small and simple thing, but it worked. This sort of thing just doesn’t get the notice it should on a regular basis.

My schedule is routinely packed. It’s chock full of tightly timed moves that get me from place to place, from meeting to event or school related activity. I don’t have copious free time and I am often dependent on timing between events being just right. Given holiday shopping traffic, this frequently fails to work in my favor.

Last week was one of those occasions. I made it from where I was teaching back to the area around my home, over to the store that has very limited hours (to the point where if you have a job you probably won’t get there), into another shop nearby and back to the house before dinner time and the need to pop back out for another meeting. It was as if I was being guided and I was destined to arrive on time. Perhaps it was my prior planning or the route I picked. Maybe the Adjustment Bureau had the day off (they oppose me almost constantly). Whatever it was, I made it and as a bonus did it without conflict with other people (something else shamefully common at this time of year). I got what I needed quickly, easily and conveniently. I was amazed. I felt even better when I realized as I walked back to my car from the second shop that “limited hours” shop had done what most of us like to do during the holiday rush. They’d closed 20 minutes early (earlier) so they could get a head start on traffic.

This is important to note. There are lots of things out there to be thankful for, or to give thought to, or be outraged about each and every holiday season. Sometimes it’s the little things that matter. The things you don’t note. Consider all the things that go right for you, even the little things. Sit back and enjoy the holiday season.

Merry Christmas.