Black Friday

Ok folks this is more of a sappy one than my usual posting.

As you have probably garnered already, I am the proud mother of two beautiful teenagers. They are their own independent personalities but, in some respect, they go after their mom - shopping!

This thanksgiving we decided to stay in town and spend more time as a family - just us. We have one flying off the nest soon and all of a sudden, it's made me realize how little time we have together. I have to say I am proud of my teenagers (and husband) who have humored me through this empty nester craziness. When I ask them to stay at home for some "family" time, instead of excuses I get - well let's see what we can move around. That's a step in the right direction - right. The future yet has some hope for this sentimental mom!

One thing non-negotiable for them though was shopping. Even before black Friday rolled around my kids had already told me that they would not be available all day. Gone are the days when I had to clear my diary for the day and cart them around. Now they both hop into their car and bugger off. That tearjerker is for another blog post.

It reminds me of the time many moons ago when my husband and I had just gotten married and moved to the States. Black Friday had all so much appeal. When we had a head full of dreams but empty pockets and a bright future ahead of us. My 17-year-old yet reminds me of us from that phase of our life.

My husband and I would wait to do our big purchases till the day after thanksgiving - yet unaware of the marketing ploy used by the retailers. We would spend days doing market research to see which retailer would give the additional 1% off and boom wake up and head straight to the mall. Who has time for showers! And one had to visit BestBuy, even if you really had nothing to buy.

Now in hindsight we probably saved all of $100 but at that time it was a princely sum and the adrenalin rush of getting a "deal" was even more special. Then I remember that one thanksgiving when my parking ticket was more than the savings we garnered on the Blue-Ray DVD player that we just absolutely needed to have. Remember one of those. I think that's when the penny dropped for me! Now of course we are much wiser. I wait for the week before thanksgiving to get all my bargains online. Who needs to actually do anything physical other than point and click. Just kidding, now hearts and homes are full and the only real deal we need is on time with each other.

So, back to my girls, they made a plan that they would be up at 8 AM and go shopping but of course at 11;00 AM I am yet waiting for the bedroom door to open. They are clearly not THAT penniless. Who needs the door buster deals! With their lattes and coffee in hand my two fashionistas finally headed to the mall with their friends at around 12:30 PM. They spent the whole day looking for the best deal on clothes and ended up with a pair of jeans from their wanted list, that they paid rack rate on, coming back home at 8:00 PM with the satisfaction that they regaled in the great American tradition and saved a few dollars. They very excitedly walked me through all their shopping and how they had foraged through the entire mall looking for stuff they really wanted and ended up with stuff that they didn't need (just like their mom). All the while I'm sitting in front of them with a silly smile on my face, biting my tongue not to burst their bubble.

One day many moons on, they will also realize that the real deal is being in my shoes hearing them chatter on and loving every moment of it - till then my darlings enjoy your very special journey with many more black Friday bargains waiting for you.