Black Friday shopping? No thanks! I’ve never been one to wait for Thanksgiving to end to go shopping the next day for bargains. I’m probably in the 2% of the population that feels that way. Actually, shopping has become more and more of a chore since I entered my eighth decade. I’m not a fan of any kind of shopping, unless I have a cart to hold me up and have one thing to buy. This was the case on the one and only Black Friday I ever participated in. It was about 7 years ago. I saw an ad for a dog bed that was only $5. Since our dog was in need of a new one, I braved the cold weather – waited until later in the day in hopes that no one else would be in the store – went straight to the dog bed department – was deterred by some other special deals. When I finally got to the dog beds, there was only one left. I quickly snatched it up and headed for the checkout.

The trip to the waiting line was a breeze, but once I got there, I was surrounded by about 100 others who were already waiting. Of course, there were more bargains to be had at the waiting area. By the time I finally checked out, my cart was filled with $100 worth of bargains that I didn’t intend to purchase. After an hour of waiting in line, I started to doze off. A new batch of shoppers entered the store and were on a quest to get their own bargains. Hopefully they weren’t there for the dog beds, because I had the last one.

Was it worth it? When I arrived home, I placed the new dog bed in front of our dog. He immediately snuggled into while I collapsed on the couch. I guess it was worth it. Since my solo excursion on that black Friday, I’ve opted for staying at home. I’ll leave the chaos to those with more stamina than this old lady.