Whose Idea was This Anyway?

This whole idea of Black Friday is just bonkers. I guess it never really hit me all that hard until this year. I've only gone a few times in the past, but that's mostly been when I lived in the Twin Citites metro area. With all of the stores to choose from over there it must not have seemed so crazy to me. Maybe it was the fact that so much time has passed since the last time I went on a black Friday that I went when the store opened. Whichever the case, I was completely unprepared for the events of this morning.

It was a quiet morning at my house. MIL and BIL stayed over night so I didn't have to rouse the kids to take on the road thankfully. I quickly got ready and left the house at about 5:15.

I would have thought that getting to the store at 6 would be sufficient, but since Cheesehead works there he advised me to get there before the store opened to get a good place in line. Line? What? Who really heads out that early just to go shopping? Whatever. Dreariy I pulled out of the driveway into the blackness of night to buy fixtures for my new bathroom.

The roads were all still, I didn't meet a single car on my way into town. It was extremely unusual for such a time that was supposedly going to be so busy. Maybe the economy made people decide not to go out shopping today. Come to think of it, I didn't even see any deer.

When I got into town all of the lights on my side of town were flashing yellow or red, not even awake for the day. It was just about 5:30. I decided I didn't have to get there quite so early and decided to drive through town and hit Shopko first. I had plenty of time. Burger King was even closed still. What in the world was he thinking?

As I drove down Lincoln street I started wondering if this was really the same town I had just driven though. Cars were everywhere. Parking lots were packed and there wasn't a single place to bee seen from the road to park at either Walmart or Shopko. Hmm, maybe he wasn't mistaken after all.

I ditched my plans for stopping by Shopko first and headed towards Menards as fast as I could manuver, they did have the best ad after all in my own humble opinion. The cars were streaming into the already full parking lot when I arrived at 5:40. I got one of the few remaining places in the parking lot and parked my car.

Throngs of people were standing at both the entrance and the exit waiting to gain entry. The line was extended about 1/2 way through the parking lot when I arrived. I couldn't help but wonder why all of these crazy people were out at this time of the morning just to get a good deal. Then I caught myself. I guess that makes me crazy too! At least I already knew that.

I quickly walked over to the line of shivering masses to await my entry to the store. I couldn't help but think that if someone were to set up a stand selling sweet rolls and warm drinks they'd make a fortune as my teeth chattered. I snapped a couple of pictures, but they didn't show the mass of confusion that I was greeted with.

I didn't dare wear my favorite warm coat or my hat since they both had the store's name on them and I didn't want to get mobbed by people who were wondering where things were. Luckily I was able to distract myself from how cold I felt by chattering to some people in line behind me. Those poor people were probably sorry they ever said anything to me since I didn't really stop talking until the final comment I made that I wasn't going to run. I'm sure they were probably happy to be rid of my jabbering mouth by the time our "visit" was over. They really seemed very nice. They were from Chicago. I wonder if they found everything they wanted?

By 6 am the line was stretched all the way across the parking lot. People were parking out on the street. You could tell the minute the doors were unlocked as the crowd surged ahead. I bid the couple farewell and set out to grab a cart.

We were shoulder to shoulder, like a can of sardines. It was impossible to turn without bumping into someone. I found myself constantly apologizing to people whom I accicentally bumped or walked in front of. Ugh! I won't be doing this again any time soon. Securing a cart seemed an almost impossible task as I battled my way though the surging shoppers.

I emerged from the crowd into a less crowded area and set out to find my prizes via use of back aisles. First stop? Plumbing. I needed some faucets and a toilet for our basement we're finishing. I don't remember ever seeing such good deals for such nice looking fixtures. Once my two main objectives were secured I felt myself relax. I set out to search for the items it would be nice to have but we could have lived without. What a relief!

Once all of my items were crossed off of my list, I headed over to the checkout line. I must have stood there for about 15 minutes before I saw an employee who clued me into why I have sttod unmoving for so long. Apparently people were joining the line from the next main aisle so I manuvered to a place where I knew I might get into a line that would get me checked out sometime soon.

I found another group of shoppers to chat with while we stood in line waiting for our turn. I thought they had a good system worked out. The mom ran to get some of the things off of their list that they had forgotten to look up while shopping. I had seen a couple of the items they were looking for so I told here where I thought it was I might have seen the items and she set out to find them. Each time she made a triumphant return. What a great system. MIL might have been able to keep our place in line if she had been feeling well, but I don't think she could have endured the early trials of the excursion.

I wished as I stood there that I had picked up this or that, but I wasn't about to leave my place in line so I just made up my mind that I didn't really need them. All we really needed were some good deals for our bathroom fixtures. At least this year I'm buying stuff for our current house instead of spending my money on a place that we had moved out of that I was planning to stage for faster sale!

I was relieved when I was finally able to leave the crowded store to the cool breeze and lightening skies. Now if I could just remember where I parked....

Maybe the deer had the right idea to hide from the throngs of shoppers and hunters.

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave me a message and a backlink. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Cindy