Doorbusters

I admit - I am a sucker for sales. Just the way I was raised, I suppose. (My husband did not inherit this same gene, I'm sad to say.) When I still lived at home, we would usually go to Chicago the day after Thanksgiving to shop. (Not necessarily for Christmas presents, but rather to spend all the money I had saved over the year.) When I moved away but would make it home for Thanksgiving, my mom and I would hit a couple of sales on Black Friday. We weren't the crazy type of people that you see on the news, we just really had fun. There is just a special joy in getting that 'good deal', you know? The first Thanksgiving I spent with Christopher in Kansas, he humored me by making the effort to Black Friday with me. We looked through all the ads and he picked out a number of items he was interested in. I explained the stores opened early and people might line up early for the really good deals, what time would he like to go? He thought 7:00AM would be good. I was jst pleased to have company so I said nothing. However, by the third store and third employee laughing out loud when Christopher told him what we were looking for, he had had enough and decided he would really rather be home in bed. I haven't again talked him in to it. Now he has the excuse, "Someone has to stay home with the kids..." I mean really... How lame, right? Well, last year his sister went with me. This was huge as she is anything but a morning person. We've never done very much together, so this was really fun for me. This year I was by myself, though. I went back and forth on whether or not I really wanted to go out but I saw some great deals AND with the new shopping hours starting at midnight, I decided to give it a go. I am usually still up at that time so it would be no big deal. Well, what I didn't think about is that my mom and I would usually hit Kohl's and the like. This year I had my sights set on Toys R Us, and I didn't consider what all that meant. Do you have any idea how crazy toy store shoppers are in the middle of the night? Well, I do. NOW! I decided to give myself about an hour in line. It was quite long when I got there and that hour seemed to last for-e-ver. Yet, the last 20 minutes were the longest. A large group of people started congregating across the street from the doors - and all the people waiting in line. The people who had been waiting in line were not very happy with this development. And they were not afraid to let the congregatng-group know this. (By the way, have I ever mentioned that I do NOT like confrontation - with me or anyone around me???) Well, the 'cheating' group got bigger and the chatter got a little louder. One of the women standing near me would periodically walk up to the front to get the scoop. She found out that those waiting in line had called the police and the store would not open until the cops were in place and had the crowds under control. Within the next 5-10 minutes, about 6 police cars showed up. With each officer that walked by, the line-waiters gave out a rousing cheer and jeered the crowd on the opposite side of the drive. The store finally opened, about 10 minutes late, and as people got closer to the door, they felt really brave behind a solid row of cop cars and officers and used the opportunity to chide the folks who thought they could beat the 'system'. While I really just wanted everyone to hush and shop already, I did get a little entertainment out of the responses from the group that had been shpt down at the last minute. I'm not even sure what the lady in front of me said, but the wanting-to-be-really-cool-young-adult male on the other side of the police car something to the effect of, "What?!? We aren't here to do any shopping. We're just here to watch." Really? Cause if you really have nothing better to do than drive around looking for a place to watch a line go shopping? I have to think the guy needs a hobby... So, back to shopping. I am happy to report that the gift I was after was the very first item in the store and there were still plenty of them on the shelf when I went through. I was back home and in bed by 12:30. I'm pretty certain the boys are going to LOVE it, so, yes. It was all worth it. Now, ask if I am going to try it again next year? Maybe not without a babysitter to stay with my children while my husband joins me on the front lines.