I realize that people still went out on Black Friday, evidently feeling that death was a small price to pay for a cheap TV, but most of the people I know nestled back into post-holiday stupor and made other plans for gift buying and receiving. Don’t get me wrong, I love shopping. But I gave it up pretty easily when it became associated with a future on a ventilator. And I think that the social distancing/quarantine has changed the way we look at things, possibly permanently. When I asked my daughter what the grandkids wanted, she said they weren’t sure. They’ve been at home so long surrounded by their books and toys and games that it’s soaked in that they’re pretty much stocked up. There’s something about being surrounded by your stuff 24/7 that makes you realize that you possibly have enough. More than enough. Too much. And the idea of buying more is just kind of ridiculous.

That hasn’t stopped me from burning up online buying, of course, but I’m not risking my life doing that, and it’s curiously targeted, not based on my usual “Ooooh something shiny” response to actually being next to the thing I’m impulsing. I’m not going to say I’m happy about the virus, that’s an ongoing, escalating tragedy. But good can come out of bad, like not feeling compelled to overspend on the holidays because I’m not someplace with “Santa Baby” blaring on loudspeakers and a lot of cranky but determined people too close to me. I’m happy I’m home today.

What made you happy this week?