Utter Madness

For as far back as I can remember, I've never cared much for shopping. As I've grown older, my dislike of the process has evolved into near loathing accompanied with a significant amount of dread when I know that I must shop. It doesn't matter what I'm shopping for ... food, clothes, gifts ... I almost break out in a cold sweat when I know a shopping excursion is on the horizon. If I could, I would never leave my couch to purchase anything, I would do every bit of my shopping online. But ... I love my son, Brad ... I love him a lot, in fact, and there is one day of the year that my Bradley looks forward to all year. You see, for my son Brad, Thanksgiving means two things ... eating lots and lots of food, and preparing his plan of attack for Black Friday shopping. I'm not sure when it began, but Brad has a thing about shopping on Black Friday ... a real serious thing about it. And because I love him and because he says it's tradition for me to accompany him for at least some of the grand event, I steel myself each year for the crowds and the long lines ... yes, I, the woman who detests shopping, shops on Black Friday because I love my son.

So yesterday morning, I ventured out to purchase a newspaper to give to Brad the minute he arrived at my house in the early evening. For as technologically savvy as my son is, our entire family knows that Brad must have an old-fashioned hard copy newspaper on Thanksgiving ... a newspaper that is filled to overflowing with Black Friday shopping advertisements. Brad's reputation for spreading all the ads on the floor in front of him as he painstakingly makes a list of all the items he wishes to purchase and carefully maps out his travel route to the stores is even known among our extended family in Tennessee. One year when we were there visiting family, Matt and Brad camped out in front of Best Buy for the better part of a rather chilly night so that they would be some of the first customers in the door when the store opened at 4:00 a.m. I'm telling you ... Brad has a thing about shopping on Black Friday.

While many people have voiced disapproval that many retailers were beginning the traditional Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving this year, Brad was almost giddy last night when his girlfriend arrived at my house to join us on our shopping adventure. She had never experienced Black Friday shopping, and she had certainly never experienced it with Brad. As he checked and rechecked his list and discussed where we were going and when, Shelby patted him on the back and shook her head in wonder that the young man who has worn the same ugly orange sneakers since junior high was so excited to go shopping.

Though I have gone Black Friday shopping time and time again with Brad over the last 20 something years, I've never experienced it to the fullest until last night. Before he could drive himself, Brad and Matt would be the ones who would stand in line and rush in when the doors of the stores opened in the wee hours of the morning. I would then, like any smart mother would, join them at a much more reasonable time after the initial chaos was over. Translated ... I would give the boys money, tell them what I wanted them to buy for me, sleep in, meet them for breakfast and then shop for what I absolutely had to after the predawn crowds had thinned out a bit.

But this year, since the stores were opening earlier on Thanksgiving evening and since my vacuum cleaner died a couple of days ago, I decided to go with Brad and Shelby and, as Brad so eloquently stated, "see what I've been missing out on all these years." We began at Walmart at 9:30 ... well, we began by parking across the street from Walmart at 9:30 because the parking lot was completely full. We hiked to the store where we then split up and staked out our spots near the items we most wanted to purchase ... Brad and Shelby in front of the $1.28 bath towels and me in front of the $36.00 Bissell vacuum. And friends, in all my 52 years of life, I've never experienced anything quite like the utter madness that ensued when the clock reached 10:00 p.m. and a voice on the loudspeaker announced that the sale was on. I'll spare you the details of the behavior of the people around me whose sole mission in life seemed to be to own a $36.00 Bissell vacuum, but I will tell you that when I met up with Brad and Shelby a few minutes later, the two of them were breathless as they told me about an older woman who was ready to throw punches if she didn't get her $1.28 towels. And I will also tell you that my son Matt and very pregnant daughter-in-law were at the Walmart in their hometown a couple of hours west of here at the same time when Becca sent me a text message saying, "This is crazy and I'm scared!"

I finally got home at 3:00 a.m. after standing in line with Shelby for an hour and twenty minutes to check out at Old Navy while Brad hit Best Buy and Target. They got back to my house at 3:30 after they made a quick stop at Kohl's and then they drove another 40 minutes to go home. As I climbed into bed, it was almost 4:00 a.m., and I said to Julie and Ollie, "That was utter madness, dogs ... sheer and utter madness." But the final thought that was on my mind as I drifted off to sleep was this ... I made memories tonight with Brad, memories that he will always have. I got to chat with Shelby and discover that she's a deep thinker and a great gal who encourages and challenges Brad to follow his dreams. Memories ... tonight was about making memories for my son far more than it was about shopping.

So here's to you, Bradley, and your Black Friday shopping skills ... here's to you and your precious heart ... here's to you and your sweet smile ... here's to you and your strong hugs ... here's to you, my middle kiddo ... thanks for reminding me right in the middle of utter madness how very much I love you.