In my last post, I chided myself for poor planning by booking a service appointment for my beloved truck on Black Friday at a location near the big mall in Hyannis.
When I reached the dealership, though, traffic was normal or even a little lighter than normal.
This would have been a great opportunity to do some shopping, but to tell you the truth, I have no list and no plans to buy much of anything this season.
For one thing, it’s been a lean year so far. I have two income-producing offers in the hopper, but prudence and the predicted increases in little luxuries like the cost of heating dictate that I hold off on extra spending for now.
Second, short of actual cash, which is always appreciated, a non-material gift probably makes more sense for P&B: for example, footing the bill for installation of the recent vintage gas stove my neighbor is planning to give them early next week to replace their older electric model.
If this seems an unsentimental notion, then I submit you’ve never gotten used to cooking on a gas stove, only to have to transition to electric.
While waiting for the truck yesterday, I wandered into Old Navy and saw some cute, rugged outfits I’d love to get for the kids, but Bonnie likes to shop for their clothes herself – she knows their quirks and their sizes, and past experience has taught me that trying to second-guess these usually ends in disappointment.
The kids have asked for ice skates, so maybe we’ll make a trip next month to Butler’s on West Main – you pay full retail, but you get the reassurance that they’ll be properly fitted.
Aside from the folks at #11, I exchange gifts only with two of my gal pals, the ones with whom I celebrate our annual Christmas brunch, a lovely, civilized tradition we’ve observed for 3 years now.
So, there was no great need to get up in the freezing cold, or to hoard time-limited coupons, or to spend hours researching the sadistic Black Friday 6 AM only specials, or for that matter, to spend any time at all in a retail store yesterday.
Maybe having a limited circle of close friends and only a small extended family with whom one is on speaking terms is a blessing after all.