I officially started my Christmas Shopping today.  Though I have been involved in projects already that are going to be Christmas presents, for some reason that doesn’t count as “shopping.”  I’m not expecting to find anything super fantastic, though, because my Christmas Miracle 2008 has already occurred. 

My mother, the mother for whom we have the hardest time in the world buying gifts, because she never, ever, ever says out loud anything that she wants, ever, ever, ever–That Mother, That Mother sent me a CHRISTMAS LIST. 

I have since called everyone in my family, offering to tell them about one item off the list in exchange for $5.00.  I figure by the time I sell off all the items, I can make enough cash to pay for her gift outright. Dollars and the victory of being the first person to ever get a list from mom? DOUBLE SCORE.

In a moment of tragic guilt, last night, I realized that maybe the reason that I have never received a list from Mom before is simply because I’ve never asked.  Was it really possible that in 24 Christmases, I’d never asked my mom for a Christmas List?  Zack assured me that I wasn’t a bad daughter, and I believed him. I was still left with a haunting feeling about it, though, until I remembered specifically asking her a few times what she wanted.  Trick was, apparently, to ask for it in WRITING.  Never shall a gift request leave her lips, but ENTIRE LISTS can flow forth from her fingertips.  Lesson Learned.