Bane of My Existence

To say that something is the "bane of my existence" means that something is a constant irritant, something that makes life unpleasant.


Here are my banes for the month of July:


Back when I was teaching, I looked forward to the three-month summer vacation each year to enjoy time with my family and to recharge my battery so that when the new school year began, I'd be eager to return to the new crop of middle-schoolers that awaited me.  


However, the appearance of school supplies on the store shelves right after Fourth of July always irritated me. My summer vacation wasn't even half over, and there was the reminder that the clock had started ticking. Now that I'm retired, the sight of those spiral notebooks, pens, and book bags still gets me going!  Pavlov's Theory.


I'm going to have to write a letter to Dollar Tree, currently one of my favorite stores, because of what I saw there about two weeks ago.  Right there behind the summer picnic supplies was an entire aisle devoted to Halloween costumes and decorations!  Come on now!  It's JULY!  Halloween is three months away!


But this next one really blew my mind.......In the week following the appearance of pumpkins, witches, and ghouls at Dollar Tree, what to my wondering eyes should appear but CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!!!  I kid you not!


Why can't we just enjoy our current season?  Why must we always be subjected to retail merchants reminding us that Halloween's just around the corner (NOT!) or that there are only 150 shopping days left before Christmas?


With that in mind, I bid you Happy Halloween and Merry Christmas. LOL