11.23.2007
Surviving Black Friday
Marathon runners train for months in preparation for the big race.
My mother-in-law, “Queen,” and I have trained for years in preparation for Black Friday.
Training got serious in October when I took up morning coffee. It continued last week when I studied online scans of newspaper inserts. It took shape Thursday as we devised a timeline and snipped coupons. It came to fruition at 3 a.m. on Friday.
We were not fully trained to handle Black Friday.
Waking up at 2:30 a.m. alone is a feat of strength.
Navigating hoards of sales-hungry shoppers and disaster areas left behind by the mob requires agility.
Managing armfuls of merchandise while standing in a line that wraps around the department store requires muscle tone and endurance.
Keeping calm when a woman with three cartfuls of stuff jumps in line after you’ve waited an hour to get to the same place requires monumental patience.
Black Friday isn’t for everyone.
Every year I start to think that maybe it isn’t for me.
When the snacks run out and my feet start to ache, I wonder why I do it. Then I take a long nap, look over my receipts and know that I will run the same gauntlet next year.
Finding – and giving – the perfect gifts for the people that matter most is important to me. Most of it wouldn’t be possible without the deep cuts available during Black Friday.
Besides, who wouldn’t want to spend the wee hours of the morning with their mother-in law?