Sights seen on a short shopping trip:

• A Toys for Tots box filled to overflowing
• A Brownie Girl Scout troop manning the Salvation Army bells and bucket
• Happy cashiers – well, at least one was smiling and pleasant.

It wasn’t much, but these short encounters made slogging through the difficult shopping day a bit more tolerable, if not quite pleasant. Now that the gift exchanges are over and the packages (wrapped or not) have been opened, life can settle a little. While the build-up to Christmas itself has its stresses, a few pleasant sights can help keep the season in perspective.