BROKE BLACK FRIDAY

Call me a party pooper, but would someone please explain to me what is UP with Black Friday? See, I’ve been immune to this shopping frenzy for quite some time, since the last nine years we have always high tailed it out-of-town to give thanks on Turkey Day in a remote location miles away from the consumerism game. This year we broke tradition and decided it was time to gobble up with my husbands’ family six hours away from our remote Thanksgiving hide-away.

The last time we had been to their town for Thanksgiving was nine years ago and yes, I was one of those crazy moms who got up at 5am to stand in line at Shopko for a doll house my daughter must have. She was  two at the time and the doll house only was cool for about one year before she grew out of “girly” toys!  My thoughts at the time were that I would be a horrible parent if I disappointed her by not getting her the most lovely, made in China piece of plastic crap that she would  surely treasure for years.    Hmmm….that worked out well!

So, in order not to be labeled a cynic I decided to head out a little later in the morning.   By the time I went out with my daughter who just wanted to see what the whole thing was about, most people had been out shopping for six or more hours.  We made a list of just a few items.  Grace wanted to look for a dress for the holiday concerts in which she will be performing.  I wanted to appease her, since that is the only time of year I usually SEE her in a dress.   Before leaving we decided we would check out Kohl’s and maybe the mall, but I also wrote down the address for the local Goodwill store.

You guessed it.  We started at Goodwill.   My old habits die-hard.   As we entered the store we noticed how much bigger their store is than our local Goodwill.  There was also 50% off everything in the store.   To me that depicts treasure hunt!!   Grace quickly started looking through the girls clothes and ended up in the wedding section, where she found a beautiful, lovely white and red satin embroidered dress.  She tried it on and it couldn’t have been a better fit!   The price?   $14.95 but with half-off we scored it for $7.47!   The only flaw was one of the straps torn, but with a needle and some thread and the sweater over the top the flaw won’t even be noticeable.

Our journey continued at Kohl’s, where we just checked out the much talked about bargains. We were in there for about ten minutes when we started getting irritated.  People were all over, it was crowded and hot, and the line if we WERE to purchase anything wrapped around the entire length of the store.  I made a point to watch the faces in the line.  No one looked overjoyed.  Grace and I mutually agreed to high tail it out of there.

Later in the day we picked up grandma and my youngest, Cade to head to the mall and see Santa.  Cade didn’t want a picture taken with him, he just wanted to deliver a note that he worked fervently on.   The line was in place but the camera was broken and  we decided to go around and ask if we could just see Santa.  The attendant mumbled something incoherently and seemed flustered, but we approached Santa anyway.  He was the most gracious Santa I have met.  He was humorous, gentle and funny and I do believe the fact that Cade just wanted to talk to him and give him his letter, full of six-year-old scratches and hearts and backwards letters, made his day as much as it made ours.

So, that was my Friday.  I pondered later in the day why I felt so resentful of the shopping, the fury, the frenzy and my daughter encapsulated my thoughts in one simple statement when she said “If we were at the cabin this year we would only be worried about cooking turkey”!

Yep….kids say the truth.  THAT was what bothered me.   Thanksgiving in the last nine years, as the economy has increasingly become obsessed with this new tradition of Black Friday, has been about being thankful for what we HAVE.  We have created a vacuum in our family…we are untouched by the tradition when we spend it in the woods.   We celebrate being minimalistic, being together, being happy, and just BEING.  I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, and I’m all for a good bargain.  What I discovered on Black Friday is that I love being green.   I love that my kids are okay when mom takes them to second-hand stores.  I recognize that one of the reasons I like to buy recycled, repurposed, and irregular is because that is the epitome of who I have become.  I have changed.  I am not perfect and I like myself better that I am not pretending to be.  I am not always shiny, packaged beautiful, or even matching.

LIFE LESSON? However you choose to spend your time and money this holiday season, remember that  family and time is free and priceless.   May you be blessed abundantly.