Gobble Gobble
This morning, the day after Thanksgiving, I woke up to find that my liver was on fire. (Many thanks to Vicki & Bruce for their always fabulous hospitality, but next time I think I'll skip that third glass of champagne.) Luckily I recognized the guy sleeping next to me, but I haven't been able to find my pants, so it's anybody's guess whether or not they still fit today. Given the amount of turkey and mashed potatoes I consumed last night, I'm going with a vote of "no". Fortunately pants aren't a requirement for blog posting.The boys also had an excellent time yesterday. All day long Mason said over and over "Go Aunt Vicki's! Go Aunt Vicki's! Go Aunt Vicki's NOW!" That's his favorite new word - "now". I'd rank that word right up there with "no" and "why" on the list of most annoying words uttered by a toddler. Anyway, both boys were super excited to see the dogs, see the koi pond ("Waterfall on!"), and ride the scooters at Aunt Vicki's house. Damian and I were excited to have some adult conversation and spend time with family.
We also had the joy of meeting Phoebe, Bruce & Vicki's granddaughter, for the first time. Or should I say, "Big Daddy" and "Big Mama". The curly red-head is a charmer, and she had everybody in the room wrapped around her little finger. Corey made fast friends with Jack, Phoebe's brother, and I wished that they lived closer so the boys could get together more often. All the kids were really good, and it helped make the evening a pleasant one indeed.
This morning, after dousing my liver with some water and a cup of strong coffee, the boys, their Gaga, and I decided to brave the malls on Black Friday. I know - what were we thinking? Actually the problem was that I still had cobwebs in my brain from last night's festivities, or I'd never have considered it. The drive over was relatively uneventful, but parking the van was like parking the van at the mall on Black Friday. There's no better or more accurate analogy to be made. This is a duh situation, and really, cobwebs or not, how did I not see that coming? Mom and I were chatting on the way over, trying to justify our idiocy by making ridiculous statements like, "Well, the morning shoppers are probably gone by this time, and the afternoon shoppers haven't started yet, so maybe it'll be fine." Yeah. See? I told you. Idiocy.
When we finally parked the van (across the street from the mall at Marshall's - we really needed Big Daddy's lucky parking skills), we hoofed it inside and found that it was bustling, but not horrible. Perhaps before lunch is the time to go, as people aren't yet haggard from an entire day of elbowing fellow shoppers out of the way. Or maybe everybody in the mall was just so happy to have parked their cars that their spirits were high. But whatever the reason, it was fine.
We did our normal mall routine, and the boys had a great time. In fact, the only thing that really annoyed me was the people who kept jumping out at me from those stalls in the aisles of the mall, waving stuff in my face and shouting, "Free sample ma'am?" Gah! I don't want it! And if I do want it, I'm sure I can find it myself! I got so irritated that I briefly considered taking the free sample and tossing it in the trash in front of the salesperson. Luckily good sense prevailed and I did not, however, because I'm sure I would later have felt guilty. As it was, I escaped the mall with both my children and a guilt-free conscience. Now if I can just do that from now until after the holidays.
After that it's a new year, and I figure all bets are off.