Pink Friday

Generally, I refuse to get caught up in the insanity of Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I avoid the crowds, the tempers flaring, the gaudy decorations, the obnoxious music and the traffic congestion. This year, though, I want to get stuff for my new grand daughter Katie. I knew of course, that she would be arriving, but I hadn't shopped ahead, thinking that somehow I had lots of time.

I know when I was pregnant, I had everything I needed as early as I could manage to get it. How often I had sat in a rocking chair and folded and re-folded blankets, counted and re-counted little sleepers, tiny undershirts, cloth diapers (I was always opposed to using many disposable ones), dreaming of the day when I would hold my wee one and sing to his bright little eyes. The boys always responded to soft low singing, and would cock their heads and listen, sighing contentedly (when they weren't screaming of course).

I quickly discovered that Penneys marked everything down 60%, and that few if any were looking in the newborn baby section of the store. Mostly they were either in the electronics department or clothes for older kids. So I settled down in the 'sweet little' baby area to decide on what to get for Katie.

Its hard to know what to buy for someone you haven't met. For Kelly, Katie's older sister, I had been told not to get a lot of pink stuff (don't want to prejudice anyone), so I concentrated on purple things. But Katie is her own person and NOT just like big sister. So I sorted through all sorts of cute baby things, searching for something that said 'Katie' to me. There was lots of pink stuff, along with blue, brown, green, yellow, orange, red, and several non-descript colors. There were patterns and themes, cows, ducks, frogs, dogs, giraffes, butterflies, and a host of other critters. There was short sleeved, long sleeved, snapped, velcroed, tied, gowned, pants, dresses. What a plethora of stuff!

In fact, there was so much crammed on every post and shelf, you couldn't really see what was there. Not to be defeated before I began, I sat on the floor, and removed everything from each spindle, one at a time, and sorted through things until I found exactly what touched my heart for my new little girl. It took about an hour for a theme to emerge. Soft pastel yellows and light greens with ducks and frogs. Perfect! Not Kelly, not any set theme driving every decision. Just a nice combination of delicate and soft things to wrap a wee girl in and cuddle her down.

I had been so focused on shopping for Katie that I had blocked out the Christmas hustle and bustle going on all around me. Now that I had what I had come for, I was catapulted back to the reality and noise of Black Friday's straining to make the economy be what was wanted. The aisle next to the baby section was filled with shoppers rushing past with armsful of stuff, some dragging crying children, others glancing at watches, some greeting friends they hadn't seen for some time.

I navigated my way to the checkout and stood in a line that curved down the south side of the store and halfway to the mall entrance. It moved quickly though since they had fully staffed the place. I placed my purchases on the counter, half expecting the clerk to notice that I was not Christmas shopping but baby shopping. She didn't even pick up on that but waved the tickets over the reader, folding neatly as she went. She even scanned a coupon taped to the register that gave me an additional 10% off! How nice!

Next.

And I was nudged out the door, happy to be free of the mall, the tension, the faulderaul. Hugging the precious blankets and outfits, I headed for the car thinking of Katie and wondering how she was coping with the big scary world into which she had so recently arrived. Perhaps it is all a matter of perspective. For me, it had been an enjoyable and uninterrupted day of baby shopping, and I felt 'in the pink' as I headed for home to wrap my gifts.