Thanksgiving and Black Friday

So Thanksgiving came and went.  And this year it was OK.  I enjoyed spending time with family and having an excuse to eat as much food as possible guilt free. I cant believe that it has come and gone.  There seems to be so much preparation for the day and then before you know it, its over.


I can't say that this year was my favorite Thanksgiving.  There are so many personal things going on that I wasn't exactly focused.  There is always something.  But that is life.  And as I always say, life is what it is. And even when you don't want to, you have to keep it moving.  Sometimes you just have to be satisfied with OK.

                                                 Jon enjoying the video Rocker

                                   Jasmine enjoying making ornaments for Christmas.


But for everything I did not get out of Thanksgiving, I soooo got out of the Black Friday Shopping Frenzy.  I had a blast.  My mother, sister, brother and I all went out at midnight to be party of the craziness and we were not disappointed.  We were successful with getting everything that we wanted.  We were able to score 32" TVs for $199, Sony camcorder for $199, digital cameras for $59, 42" TVs for $398, kitchen appliances for $3 and a host of other wants (not needs) at affordable prices.  I am not sure how I do it year after year but I manage to hang in there and shop on minimal sleep.  I enjoy helping my friends get the items that they want to.  Something about it all truly makes me happy.   And craziest thing about all of it, is that most of the things are not even for me.  :-)))


But even more than the material items, (I call them scores), I thoroughly enjoy the sport of people watching and getting to know the other shoppers. One memorable couple was the dad who was vying for the bargain 42" TV.  He was standing in line with his seven year old daughter Taylor.  They live in rural Missouri and drove close to two hours to take advantage of the sale.  He explained that without the sale, the TV is certainly something that he could never afford.  OK, I would have never brought my daughter to Black Friday and had the expectation that she would be able to handle it, but to each their own. I could clearly see that Taylor was adored and loved by her father.  Despite her age, Taylor waited in line and hung in there like a pro.  She was great.    Little Taylor seemed to gravitate towards me and we had some wonderful conversations.  One thing that she made perfectly clear is that no matter what  my daughter will love Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers.  I guess I better get with the program.   It was great talking to Taylor that night.  By talking to her I was able to get some insight about my own daughter.  I realize that raising a seven year old girl is not easy, but neither is being one. 


However, the most memorable person that I met this year had to be the lady who fell asleep between two bags of dog food trying to get the 42" LCD TV.  When she asked all of us in line if she could take a nap, I thought it was a joke.  She proceeded to wrap herself in a comforter in between two stacks of dog food and started to get some zzzz's.  She was asleep for three hours. 

And of course we all made fun of her in the spirit of passing time.  And most would think that she was insane to be sleeping in between a stack of Purina dog chow and Purina one.  However, I can say that she was the sweetest person.  Early on she explained that she was getting the big ticket items for her foster children.  She was single, but felt that she had too much house and too much love to not offer it to children who needed it.  She also drove a bus for disabled children.  It was clear to see that she had a heart of gold and truly cared for other people.  At the end of the day she even gave me the waffle maker that  eluded me in the mad rush that I promised my niece Nicole that I would get for her.  Gotta love that.  Oh well, I guess I could babble forever.  And enough is enough.  Now off to make my house fabulous for Christmas.  (or at least try to).