dear finn,
here in the united states we celebrate a day called "black friday." it is every year on the friday after thanksgiving and in a nutshell, it is the biggest shopping day of the year. the day that all of the stores go from being "in the red" to "in the black." lots of crazy things happen on this day (like people waiting in line at wal mart and target all.night.long so that they can be the first in the store to get a killer deal on a tv...unfortunately sometimes people get hurt in these lines, or trampled by other people....the "crazies" come out to play on black friday). we try not to participate in the crazy people activities, but it has been a long-standing tradition for grandma cindy and me to go out shopping on this day...it helps bring in the christmas season and i look forward to it every year!
we used to wake up super early and go out...like 5 a.m. early! we would always go to smith's marketplace, where they have a huge "6 hour sale" on things like socks and poinsettias. we don't really care about those things anymore so we don't go out that early. also, it would have made me one of those crazy people if i woke up super early to take an 8 month old out shopping...so we didn't even attempt. we waited until 8 or so and then made the rounds...bath & body works (to get $5 wallflowers and 50% off lotion and body wash)...the gap (killer deals on pj's)...macy's (killer deals on cashmere sweaters). we also went to pottery barn, pottery barn kids (where grandma cindy bought you your christmas present!) and williams sonoma (where i bought dad's christmas present). then we headed out to the cheesecake factory, where we met dad, nanny goat and uncle zac and his gf, alicia, for lunch! after that we shopped at fashion place for a few hours...then made a stop at cactus & tropical for some amaryllis' before heading home. i dropped you off, got some things done around the house, then went to kohl's, target, wal mart and costco to finish off my night. it was a long day, but oh so fun!
i though it would be difficult shopping amidst thousands of other people while pushing a stroller, but it really wasn't. and you, like always, were a fabulous shopping buddy! i am sure you were tired of being in your carseat and stroller all day, but you didn't make a fuss. i bet you were wondering why the mall was so much more crowded than it usually is, huh? endless entertainment for you, i'm sure.
maybe you'll be like uncle zac when you grow up, and like to go out shopping. my guess, however, is that you'll be like your dad and hate it. dad does like to go out on black friday though, so maybe it will become a family tradition? :) love you!
love,
mom
