As I walked along with a strong clutch to each shopping bag, my emotions (probably some fatigue) bounced around in my head. I cursed myself for carrying a big purse instead of a smaller one.
But, I was thankful and pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t a stressful day at all.
It seemed weird, isn’t Black Friday shopping supposed to be stressful? Or have they finally figured out how to get people to shop in harmony instead of appearing as imaginary monsters scrambling to grab the last _______ on the shelf?
Nah, we just didn’t go at the beginning of the shopping frenzy. We’ve gotten smarter over the years. We went after sleeping off the Thanksgiving day calories. Those darn holiday pounds seem to appear suddenly out of nowhere, clutching at our waistlines at this time of year.
It’s a proven fact that you burn calories when you sleep, right? (Sure it is, whatever helps me accept the unexplained bulge over my belt as I bent over to tie my shoes before heading out. No worries, I know walking around shopping, and carrying bags in the form of extra weight helps burn calories, too.).
The normal crazy emotions of the day weren’t as prevalent. Not quite as many people appearing mischievous and grasping items right in front of your eyes. Jeez – I want to tell them to just get a grip. But I stay silent, and polite as I bite my tongue. I can always live without _____. They apparently cannot.
Still, it was strange to have relatively short lines wherever we went. Did someone capture all the shoppers? (Nah, they had already finished their shopping and went home to sleep off the early morning competitions for best gifts purchased.).
Maybe, it helped to have avoided the normal long-line stores this year? Yeah, that was good thinking on our part, especially when they offered the same products online at the same time the doors of the stores opened. (Duh, why wouldn’t we shop that way? We’ll see, we gave it a try.).
My thoughts wandered again about how nice the day was.
I was hopeful. (I think I bought things people will like…that’s always a gamble, gift receipts were invented for precisely this reason.).
I was joyful. (Not only did I find gifts my daughter will like, (she picked them out herself) I also found a new shirt for myself. Way out of my normal look – something different to make the silvers pop and bring new life to my wardrobe. I better open up the bag and try it on again…I tend to rationalize purchases when I’m in the changing room, with the magical mirrors that make one look awesome.).
Oh, my, why was I still a tiny bit fearful? (There’s always the potential cyber gremlins lurking in spaces I don’t even know exist. Purchases made on Black Friday, online and in stores just set us up for identity theft…if we’re not careful.).
After a good night’s sleep, fears of Black Friday shopping disappear. The morning brings with it another time to burn off some more calories as we head out to Super Saturday shopping – (The shoppers and workers have bathed their bodies, and the deals are awaiting and of course, there’s plenty of wrapping paper left to be used…!).
