Suddenly *Not So* Single Journey

Oh glorious Black Friday…

Author: thenicknick

I started my Black Friday at o’dark thirty.  Or, given the pre-shopping, the planning and preparing, pouring over fliers, one might say that I began my shopping at Kimberly’s house after leaving Jay and Spring’s about 7:30 Thanksgiving night.  And let’s face it, pre-shopping is key.

The best part…Kimberly had never been Black Friday shopping before.  She had yet to experience the thrill of success, the agony of defeat.  She had no idea what she was in for.  We studied the fliers and made our plan.  I had to be to work by 10am, she had to be in by 11am.  We were to meet *gulp* at 5am in the Bi-Lo parking lot where we would then pile into my vehicle to complete the shopping spree.

Well, Sophie was my first snafoo.  She didn’t want to get off me.  Ever since she’s become an only kitty-cow, she’s been the NEEDIEST little kitty EVER.  She didn’t want to get off me or have me stop petting her, and given the significant amount of alone time she’s had lately, I felt guilty…so I kept petting her.  (And my little cupboard under the bed was sooooo warm and snuggly…)

Needless to say, I was five minutes late.  Kimberly took it in stride, which is one of the many many many reasons I adore her.  We hit Target, managed to get a free reusable shopping bag, and found EVERYTHING on my list there.  I would go into details, but since the kids read the blog…

But Keenan, you should know that Kimberly bled so you could get your present.  Is she a team player or what?  And Rachel, we came really close to having to wrestle one of your presents away from someone.  I totally could have taken her, by the way.  And Kimberly bought…nothing.

Then we went to Kohl’s so she could buy something for Carrie.  Only they were out.  But I found two more items for the kids.  I can’t tell you what they were, but I’m bursting with pride because…I only spent $30 there and saved…$82.  That’s right, I’m a Super Shopper, I’m Shopper Extraordinaire.  They may hold a parade in my honor.  I will be revered by women everywhere.  It will almost make up for the fact that I’ll never get Mother of the Year.  *sigh*  Oh, and Kimberly?  She bought…nothing.

Then we went to Toys ‘R Us because there were things Kimberly had seen in the fliers and because I was determined she buy SOMETHING.  Let me just say, I had a blast there.  There were news crews there with one of those cameras just trained on the parking lot, watching the chaos that transpired.  I took my favorite Black Friday picture there…the big sign of no savings.  We weren’t there long, despite scouring the store.  And Kimberly bought…nothing.

I was beginning to think that if we hadn’t stopped at Chick-fil-A she wouldn’t have bought ANYTHING all day.  (For future reference, I tried something new…the chicken biscuit with egg and cheese, it is the way forward and I have renamed it ‘chicken two ways.’  I’m sure it will catch right on.)

Then we hit the mall, which is always a mixed bag.  There were people shopping in jammies, people who looked like they just rolled out of bed, people who looked like they woke up on the wrong side of the bed, people who looked like they just stepped out of the shower, people who smelled like they needed a shower.  I wouldn’t have missed it for ANYTHING.  Anything!

We went to a few stores for me, which shall remain nameless in order to preserve the magic that is Christmas.  Oh, and speaking about Christmas magic…at the Disney Store, the most magical store of all…Kimberly BOUGHT several somethings!  We stood in line for a long time and she sang to the carols.  It was cute.  And then we were looking around and I saw a man in line carrying a Disney shopping bag  wearing a scowl.  The bag said ‘Share the Magic.’

me: He doesn’t look like he’s sharing the magic.

Kimberly: Not at all!

Then we were being checked out by a girl who was singing loudly and enthusiasticly to the Nighmare Before Christmas song playing on the television behind her.  And I watched her in fascination.  She was singing and working, she disapeared below the counter for a bit to grab a bag and then bobbed up still singing, never missing a beat.  It was killing me not to burst out laughing.

Once we made it out of the store…

me: Now SHE was sharing the magic!

By then it was 8am.  We had exhausted all our shopping spots.  I dropped Kimberly back off at her car and was to my office by 8:30am.  And since I didn’t technically have to be in until 10am, I stopped and grabbed a hot chocolate at Starbucks.

It’s funny how little it takes for me to be happy and share the magic…a little quality time with friends, a little retail therapy, a little biscuit…(okay, the biscuit was bursting to capacity…tomato tomahtow), a little warm chocolate happiness in a cup… all the makings of a glorious day.

***Okay, now you really really really (that’s three reallys) have to come back tomorrow to read about my glorious Friday night where I went on the best not a date of my entire life.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 12:39 am and is filed under Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.