Black Friday

Growing up, Black Friday had always been a very thrilling day for me. My mother and I would scour the ads and plan our attack. We'd get up before dawn and gather with the other shoppers, taking advantage of sale prices and grab bags. After all the deals were snagged, we'd stop for lunch and then drag our weary bodies back home.

I quit going shopping with my mom on Black Friday many years ago. She had been making choices in her life that were destructive. I needed to limit my contact with her to only phone calls and a few person to person visits each year. Unfortunately she ended up really blowing it. Her behavior made it no longer safe for me, or any of my family, to have contact with her. With this loss of my mother, I lost many things, including the fun, and excitement of Black Friday.

This year I re-claimed it. Black Friday was mine. Granted I fell asleep about an hour before I wanted to head out the door, but my step-daughter (aka The Artist) woke me up about 10 minutes before I wanted to leave anyways.

Me: running my fingers through my hair, throwing on my glasses, and collecting my purse.
The Artist: wanting to take a shower, grabbing clean clothes, and putting on make-up.
Me: "We're leaving in 5 minutes."
The Artist: "Dang girl, you get ready fast!"
Me: "It's shopping spree, not a fashion show."

And out the door we go! This was The Artist's first time going out on Black Friday. As we traveled down the deserted streets at 4:30 in the morning she says, "hmmmph. Are we the *only* ones out shopping? I thought there would be more people then just us."

I smiled a silent smile and continued our journey to our first destination: Super Walmart. As we pulled into the shopping area, the look on her face was priceless. Her eyes were wide with excitement and terror. Her jaw dropped with shock. We stared into a parking lot completely full of cars...I say to her, "I guess we're not the only ones." And our journey of re-claiming Black Friday has officially begun.