Ordering Stuff, Stuff Arriving Fast — Now What?
I grew up flipping through JCPenny & Sears catalogs. JCPenny made me think of my future, the catalog had the fashion in the front, then towards the end there were the wedding gowns, furniture, then baby items. Sears was my go to catalog for Christmas. When the Sears Christmas catalog arrived OMG! Jubilation! Celebration! Let the wishing begin.
I would grab a piece of paper and something to write with. I would then create columns; The page number item number, color, cost. I tabulated my total and circled it. My Mom was now aware of what I wanted in detail and how much money she needed to spend. I made things easy for her.
Despite my detailed efforts I didn’t get everything on my list. I remember us driving to JCPenny to pick up our packages. Mom said the first floor is where you picked your packages up at. Corduroys, my GQ blouse, just clothes, never toys.
Anyway, during the Christmas season my mother would put our presents under the tree. My sister and I would study each gift wondering what on earth was behind the wrapping paper. I remember one time the wrapping paper was torn, but I couldn’t fully see what the gift could be. I was a good kid, I didn’t pick up the gift or shake them I just stared and wondered. Time went by really slow back then and when you’re a kid the anticipation for a toy seemed incredibly, painstakingly long.
Those were the days…last Christmas, I picked up the Target and WalMart Christmas circular. I took out some paper and a pen and I told my boys to write down what they wanted for Christmas. They skimmed through the circulars and meh. Meh as in not really interested, as in this is boring. They were right, this was boring.
My boys are older now, still in their single digits, but kids today are different in a lot of ways. How we begged for toys growing up. We played with our toys until one eye stopped blinking on our dolls. We wore our toys out so much so that they were practically unrecognizable, faded colors, missing legs, arms, wheels. Kids today really don’t anticipate too much during Christmas because they pretty much get the things that they want throughout the year. When Christmas arrives they receive other things in bulk and days later, they’re bored.
No longer do we have to look out the window several times a day waiting for the mailman to deliver our packages. Our notifications appear on our phone and in our email inbox, our package is only 3 stops away. Goodbye catalogs and circulars we’re shopping online and receiving our packages within days. The year 2020, quarantined meant a lot of decorating, trying new recipes, and of course ordering online.
I watched the kids over on TikTok making whipped coffee, I ordered a frother. I also needed new cooking utensils, new this, new that. Did I really need those things? Not really. Opening my new stuff, what a thrill. Amazon is awesome, so is Wayfair, and WalMart, and although I wasn’t going anywhere I couldn’t resist buying some hot girl clothes from Fashion Nova.
I smile as I look at my new pillows, how clean the disgusting carpet is, I hate carpet. Yup when I want it, I can order it and get it. That’s a perk of being grown, but it’s also the time we live in. Fast and easy access, just like my outfits from Fashion Nova.
My new pillows are fabulous, my new heating pad that heats my neck and back at the same time you can’t beat that. What do I order next? Oh yeah that foot peely thing, it looks gross, but I definitely hear good things about it. BuzzFed has multiple list of things I need to order from Amazon and Target. Influencers are always pushing Amazon finds on TikTok. In my inbox these products go.
I have a problem, is it just me? Ordering all this stuff, the stuff arrives, and I like it, but then it’s kinda like what’s next? Sometimes I let things sit in an online cart for a long time, I want to feel anticipation, but then I’ll receive all these email reminders YOU STILL HAVE ITEMS IN YOUR CART, ORDER SOON ALMOST OUT OF STOCK sometimes I remove those items from my cart, other times I click SUBMIT.
