Tra-di-tion....Tradition!

Since about high school, I have been out on Black Friday to do some shopping. It all started with socks & poinsettias at Fred Meyer with my mom. I guess you could say I was her shopping cart side kick. I would push the cart, while she battled the crowds at 6 in the morning. The last few years, it has grown for me to getting toys and gifts for the family at different stores. Some may say this is crazy, and more will think so after reading what this year was like.

It all started on a cold and wintery Thanksgiving evening. My sister and I had made our list of items we were seeking and the stores in which we hit. Our first stop was going to be the midnight opening at Wal-Mart. We didn't get there right at 12, but shortly thereafter. We had to park quite a ways away. When we got into the store, all the carts were taken and filled by hundreds, if not thousands of people already in the store. After fighting through crowds and grabbing the few things we needed, Mel had got into a line and I looked around a little bit more. The lines were endless....yet we made it through. Just as we were heading out the door, with our purchases being checked against our receipts, Mel says, "I've got to see this." As she said that, three employees ran past us. We step outside to watch the employees run after some kid who apparently had shoplifted. I don't know if they caught him, but I sure wouldn't have been running through the icy parking lot at 1 am! Mel and I went our separate ways to grab a little bit of shut eye before our 4 am appointment at Target -this is where the fun begins!

I couldn't sleep, but what I did get was filled with dreams of strategy and how we could get in a get what we needed efficiently. This time, we were at Target about 3:40 am. As we walked to the entrance, we found it to be a long, long, long line to get into the store. We decided to wait it out in the car and return closer to opening time. At minutes before opening, we took our place in line, behind three teenage boys wearing their flannel pajama pants, parkas, knitted hats and 2 of the 3 were wearing cowboy boots...wish I had a picture, they were lovely outfits! It took about 15 minutes to walk the entire line and get into the store. Mel and I set out to get our purchases. First, I picked up a razor scooter, then an easy bake oven, some glove/hat set for the kids, and went to find a pyrex set I had been eyeing. When I got to the pyrex there were only three left, so I tried to juggle it in my arms...did I mention I did NOT have a cart?? So, then I was ready to get in line which sent my back to the place I started on the other side of the store. When I got in line, there was a man taking pictures of people in line...I don't know if I became one of them, I hope not!
The pyrex set was so heavy, I put it on the ground and began to kick it forward as we crept along. Target had the line weave all through the grocery section and I was in line a long time before we even hit the groceries. The man who had been taking pictures had seen my overflowing arms and attempt to scoot my items took pity on me and asked if I could use a cart. I told him it would be great. A few minutes later he returned to the line with a few carts, gave one to me, and carts to others in line who needed one. What a nice man! Saved my day. My sister came and unloaded her things into my cart and dashed off a few times to look around more or exchange things she had found. It took forever to get throught the line, but much easier with the cart. When we did make it to the end, Target had blocked off the check stands with boxes of items that were on their Black Friday Sale. One of the large stacks of boxes were pyrex! I wish I had know after all that struggling and kicking around the pyrex! Could have saved me a lot of hassle and strength!
We made a quick stop to Toys R Us and then on to Smith's Marketplace for socks and pillow pets. I was not a fan of pillow pets and was not going to get them for the kids, but caved. Smith's had them at the same price as all the other stores, but their's came with a $5 gift card to Smith's, that was good enough for us. We ran into some friends along the way, one at Target and Smith's. Just as we were getting ready to leave Smith's we ran into our Mom - there to get some socks of course. We made it back home around 9 am. F and I went through the purchases of the night, figured we were set with most of the stuff we needed for Christmas and I headed off to bed for a few hours sleep. Whew...can't believe we survived.

Oh, did I mention I did all of this while being nearly 8 months pregnant?? I must be crazy.