This year marks a milestone for me. With Thanksgiving less than a week behind us, Cindy and I have almost completed our Christmas shopping. That’s a huge change for me. It’s been a personal tradition to postpone holiday shopping for as long as possible. It’s not that I dislike Christmas shopping. Maybe it’s due to a career in the newspaper business, but I believe I work better on deadline.

Typically, my Christmas shopping starts about this time, but only trinkets and the got-to-have-it items have been purchased. My shopping usually becomes intense about a week before Santa is scheduled to arrive.