Black Friday

I never shop on Black Friday. I hate crowds, rudeness, short tempers, and long lines. I can't imagine getting up at 4am to catch a bargain, especially the ones advertised on TV (get a $1289 ring for only $499!). I guess my modest $30 per person isn't in vogue this year. I keep asking the boys what they want for Christmas only to hear a list of hundred dollar items spieled off. "Nope," I shake my head. "Too expensive. Try again. I need a list of things I might actually afford."

In spite of my decision, I found myself sucked into the game. Drew had broken his glasses a few weeks back, and I had promised to get him a new pair on Black Friday. I figured there would be no competition, and I was right. The place was completely empty when we arrived. A few people wandered in after us, but we had no real wait time except for while they checked to see what our insurance would cover.

After the eye exam and his conversation to select the frames, we had an hour to kill while they assembled his new glasses. And I had a couple of coupons. So we meandered over to the craft store to see what we could find. Every year I select someone and send them little gifts that I think they will enjoy - do a 12 days of Christmas. I started the year my Mom was sick and having a hard time getting back to square one, the year after her Mother passed away. Mom is easy to shop for - I've known her all my life and her tastes haven't changed much.

She liked it! The next year I found someone who was down in the dumps and tried my hand at finding stuff to please someone I didn't know as well, but with whom I had worked enough to have some sense of what their interests and taste were like. A well received gesture once again. And I have kept it going every year. Its not hard to find someone struggling with life's difficulties. Its harder to decide which person to select.

This year, I decided to lighten up a bit and encourage my daughter-in-law via her girls, my darling granddaughters. This will be the first Christmas since her Mom passed away from cancer and I suspect it will not be easy. I had already done a 12 days for her previously, so I decided that sending cards every day from Dec 1 until Dec 24 would give them all something to look forward to, a small bright spot in otherwise long and tedious days.

In each card, I wanted to tuck some little thing that would bring a smile to their faces - a few stickers, a piece of candy, a magnet etc. So we scoured the craft store for ideas and found quite a few things. It was fun! But then we got the bright idea to go to another store. Big mistake. We entered and exited and beat it back to the glasses place. I KNEW there was a reason I don't shop on Black Friday. Still, at least I got a head start on this year's project. Maybe the day wasn't totally black after all.