Friday, November 28, 2008

Black Friday and Past Shopping Memories


Shopping has never been of particular interest to me. When I was growing up, about once every month or so we would travel to downtown Lansing, and once in a while to Hudson's in Detroit.

Mom saved stamps, we dutifully filled the books, and off we would go to Arbaughs in Lansing to redeem the books for household items. My grandmother usually tagged along and we loved to stop by Woolworth's for a banana split or hot fudge Sunday.

In later years, I sometimes enjoyed shopping for specific items such as lamps for a new home, or my twice a year clothes shopping spree, but other than that, I continued to stay away from family shopping trips.

One day, I allowed my mother to talk me into going to the Lansing Mall during December for their family gift buying day. The group included my mother and father, my sister, my two daughters and myself.

Never have I seen a family as divided as we were that day, and it has become one of my favorite shopping stories of all time. What happened is this:

We all went our separate ways with shopping lists either in mind or written down. After a very short time of shopping, my father, younger daughter and I ended up sitting on a bench in the middle of the mall discussing where we would like to go for lunch.

Every once in a while, Mom, Sis and older daughter would come out of one store, wave as they passed, and enter the next store. A couple of times they even dropped off their packages for us to protect, while leaving their hands and arms free to assault the next shop.

I have blanked out (such a blessing) how long we sat there waiting for them, but I know it was a long time. Finally, either shopped-out or feeling sorry for us (probably the former), they took pity on us and we went to a nearby favorite cafeteria-style restaurant for a delicious and well deserved lunch.

Every year at this time I remember that infamous shopping trip. Evenly divided by personality, three shoppers and three nons, we managed to accumulate all we needed for a very merry family Christmas.

Do you have a favorite shopping story? Are you a shopper or a bench warmer?

2 comments:

Susie said...

Hey big Sis -- Is that the same trip where I was walking along the mall with your oldest daughter and she said "I bet Grandpa will like the new toilet seat we got him." And Dad/Grandpa said from behind us "Oh Yeah?" I'm thinking you were walking beside him?

Edie Dykeman said...

I thought she was walking beside him at the time, but she could have been behind him. In any case, she knew he was right there, but didn't think about what she was saying.

Seems like that happened at the Meridian Mall, as we were walking out, and the shopping trip was at the Lansing Mall. Me thinks...

Anyway, thanks for the comment. I have another picture of Mom and her presents that I am going to upload, probably next week. It was taken a few years early - she looks like she has an Afro.

Thanks for the comment - glad you are reading the posts.