Richmond Parents Monthly | Family Magazine

the frumpy zone by colleen r. lee

Holiday Cheer at 5 a.m.? That’s Fantastic Friday for You!

Want to know my guilty little secret? My favorite part of Thanksgiving isn’t the warm fuzzy feeling I get when I sit down with my family to enjoy the only home-cooked meal I make during the year. My favorite part of Thanksgiving is actually the day after: Black Friday.

On Thanksgiving night when the last of the pumpkin pie has been polished off, the dishes are washed and dried, and the kids are watching their latest DVD, my husband and I will sit on the floor in a sea of sales papers and plot our strategy.

We usually shop in shifts. If there’s a heavy duty electronic item on sale, my husband will get up at 4:00 a.m. and stand in line with 135 other freaky Friday fanatics until the store opens. He’ll snag the item, tag me for my turn in the ring and be back in bed by 5:30 a.m.

Clad in my super shopping clothes, I’m ready for action.

I wear leggings to keep warm and limber. I layer a large sweatshirt over a long-john shirt to eliminate the need for a bulky coat. (This enables me to glide right through crowded aisles.)

I wear a knit hat, which not only keeps me warm but hides the fact that I didn’t shower, brush my hair or apply makeup. Basically, I look like a homeless shoplifter. (You may think I’m exaggerating, but last year, I actually had a sales lady walk by me and say in a very snooty voice, “We do have surveillance cameras here.”)

Despite snooty clerks and despite the media’s insinuation that the day is the beginning of the greed and commercialism that marks the Christmas season, I think Black Friday is magical.

I love being in the crowds drinking coffee and munching on pumpkin roll while I wait in the pre-dawn line for the first store on my list to open. I’m always excited, smiling and polite. I’ve saved spots in long lines for total strangers and we’ve bonded over our admittedly bizarre behavior. I mean, who gets a kick out of waiting in a line that starts at the doors of Target and snakes its way around the building to the front door of Kohl’s?

While many people prefer to enjoy the day after Thanksgiving hibernating in their cozy PJs and nibbling on leftovers, I prefer to be out in the crowds, spreading holiday cheer.

Perhaps the media will recognize my efforts and rename the day after Thanksgiving “Fantastic
Friday.”

Richmond-area writer and teacher Colleen R. Lee lives with her husband and three kids in the Frumpy Zone. Visit her at www.thefrumpyzone.blogspot.com

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