Whiplash

I'll admit it: I was running late.

I hadn't picked up the candy for the trick-or-treaters who would start coming within the hour, so I stopped by Target (conveniently on the way home from work) to get a few things on the old grocery list.

Sugar: Check.
Coffee Creamer: Check.

Now, gotta swing by the candy aisle. Get something fun-sized.

Ahhh. Reese's Cups. Can't go wrong there. Ooooh. And these have caramel in them, too. Nice addition by the folks at Reese's, I say. (Wife later reviewed them and deemed them a "waste of a perfectly good Reese's Cup." Thankfully, I also picked up some fun-sized--read: smaller--Reese's Cups.)

Five bucks, and I probably overspent...we only get between 5 or 10 trick-or-treaters every year, anyway. Just not that big a deal anymore...or possibly our neighborhood is aging or maybe it's just that our block is off the beaten path. Not sure on that one. But, hey, having leftover candy in our home isn't too much of a problem.

Suger in hand, creamer, candy. I'm a no-cart, no-bucket guy if either can possibly be avoided. And then, it happened.

Nice teenage employee.
Big old orange Target cart.
Overflowing with candy...

...in CHRISTMAS packaging.

Double-take. This can't be happening.

Just to be sure, I ask the employee, "Christmas stuff out already?"

She replies, "Yep. One of my friends is actually over by the lawn & garden section and their crew is taking out the Halloween decor and setting up all the Christmas stuff. I'm just getting candy displayed on the end-caps right now. I'll stock the main area after we close tonight."

Nice, friendly employee. This is good.

But I didn't like what she was doing. I don't know why I didn't like it, exactly.

But I didn't.

I'm not ready for Christmas just yet, folks. I mean, we're still three weeks from Thanksgiving, aren't we?