Friday, November 29, 2019
Happy Black Friday! I have loved Black Friday for many years; I call it my favorite holiday. My idea of a perfect Thanksgiving is to get the newspaper full of ads and spend the entire day sitting at home, planning purchases. If there are some good toy deals, I will buy a few gifts for my seven-year-old, Mika, however Black Friday has always been about me ever since my dad took me to Pamida for 20 for one dollar, full-size candy bars in high school.
I usually get electronic accessories such as headsets, flash drives, movies, and etcetera. This year I have simply not been in the mood. I was out of bed with plenty of time to roll down to the convenience store to buy yesterday’s paper before we went to Thanksgiving lunch, but I did not feel like it. I am working to get stuff out of my house; I do not want to bring more stuff in.
I am also having trouble spending any money on items for me. I did buy some new long-sleeved t-shirts after I finished my original chemotherapy treatment plan, before I got my terminal diagnosis because some of mine were very holey and needed to be thrown away. I simply cannot convince myself I should buy new underwear or jeans unless my others get too many holes to wear. It is not that I cannot afford to replace clothes that are starting to show a little wear; I feel I am wasting money I can spend on those that will probably not be dead within a few years or my family could use after I pass.
Yesterday I did not look at a single ad. Today I looked at four ads online because Mika needs new snow boots and I wanted to know if any of the department stores had them on sale. They did not. At about 10:00 a.m. I rolled down to my neighborhood Target to shop Black Friday deals for Mika. That was a mistake.
I did not think the snow would still be an issue, but I was wrong. I can roll my wheelchair in the street safely in my neighborhood, so I do not need to rely on people to shovel their sidewalks and some of the streets do not have sidewalks at all. I got down to the main street that leads to Target and the access to the sidewalk was blocked by a foot of plowed snow. Fortunately, that street has well-marked bike lanes and I was able to ride safely in the traffic to Target
Mika and her Dad met me at Target so we could look at snow boots and buy toys. I miss Payless Shoes. I used to simply take Mika into their store and the clerk would put the shoes on and off Mika’s feet and make sure we got the right size. Someone needs to come with me if I buy Mika shoes at Target because they never (almost never; nothing is never) have helpers around.
They remodeled my local Target a couple of years ago and I hate (yes, I dislike it enough to use a four-letter word) it. I shop at the store approximately one quarter of the time I did before the change. The new layout does not make sense and I need to search the entire store for a clerk to help me. Target quit requiring its employees to wear their branded red shirts so now customers do not have a clue who works there. Target may be the next chain to start closing stores.
After searching the store for a helper to check for a different size boot we wanted to get Mika, we discovered we need to go back Wednesday when her size will be back in stock. I did buy four games for Mika to play with her friends, two LEGO sets, and five DVDs. I did go to Target.com to purchase a Play-Doh set Mika had requested several weeks ago that was not in the Play-Doh section and I was not about to search the store for a helper again. Thus, my Black Friday shopping was done.
My piece of advice to you is give up your traditions when they no longer serve you. I doubt I will shop at all if I make it to another Black Friday. I did not feel the bargain-hunter joy I have felt in the past. Maybe next Black Friday we will all sit on the couch and watch a movie together.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
Happy Black Friday! I have loved Black Friday for many years; I call it my favorite holiday. My idea of a perfect Thanksgiving is to get the newspaper full of ads and spend the entire day sitting at home, planning purchases. If there are some good toy deals, I will buy a few gifts for my seven-year-old, Mika, however Black Friday has always been about me ever since my dad took me to Pamida for 20 for one dollar, full-size candy bars in high school.
I usually get electronic accessories such as headsets, flash drives, movies, and etcetera. This year I have simply not been in the mood. I was out of bed with plenty of time to roll down to the convenience store to buy yesterday’s paper before we went to Thanksgiving lunch, but I did not feel like it. I am working to get stuff out of my house; I do not want to bring more stuff in.
I am also having trouble spending any money on items for me. I did buy some new long-sleeved t-shirts after I finished my original chemotherapy treatment plan, before I got my terminal diagnosis because some of mine were very holey and needed to be thrown away. I simply cannot convince myself I should buy new underwear or jeans unless my others get too many holes to wear. It is not that I cannot afford to replace clothes that are starting to show a little wear; I feel I am wasting money I can spend on those that will probably not be dead within a few years or my family could use after I pass.
Yesterday I did not look at a single ad. Today I looked at four ads online because Mika needs new snow boots and I wanted to know if any of the department stores had them on sale. They did not. At about 10:00 a.m. I rolled down to my neighborhood Target to shop Black Friday deals for Mika. That was a mistake.
I did not think the snow would still be an issue, but I was wrong. I can roll my wheelchair in the street safely in my neighborhood, so I do not need to rely on people to shovel their sidewalks and some of the streets do not have sidewalks at all. I got down to the main street that leads to Target and the access to the sidewalk was blocked by a foot of plowed snow. Fortunately, that street has well-marked bike lanes and I was able to ride safely in the traffic to Target
Mika and her Dad met me at Target so we could look at snow boots and buy toys. I miss Payless Shoes. I used to simply take Mika into their store and the clerk would put the shoes on and off Mika’s feet and make sure we got the right size. Someone needs to come with me if I buy Mika shoes at Target because they never (almost never; nothing is never) have helpers around.
They remodeled my local Target a couple of years ago and I hate (yes, I dislike it enough to use a four-letter word) it. I shop at the store approximately one quarter of the time I did before the change. The new layout does not make sense and I need to search the entire store for a clerk to help me. Target quit requiring its employees to wear their branded red shirts so now customers do not have a clue who works there. Target may be the next chain to start closing stores.
After searching the store for a helper to check for a different size boot we wanted to get Mika, we discovered we need to go back Wednesday when her size will be back in stock. I did buy four games for Mika to play with her friends, two LEGO sets, and five DVDs. I did go to Target.com to purchase a Play-Doh set Mika had requested several weeks ago that was not in the Play-Doh section and I was not about to search the store for a helper again. Thus, my Black Friday shopping was done.
My piece of advice to you is give up your traditions when they no longer serve you. I doubt I will shop at all if I make it to another Black Friday. I did not feel the bargain-hunter joy I have felt in the past. Maybe next Black Friday we will all sit on the couch and watch a movie together.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.