You’re told that an event that’s dear to your heart — an annual fair, festival, or conference — will be cancelled forever. Write about it. For your twist, focus on your own voice.

A couple years ago, I was invited into a “sacred” ritual with my (then future) now daughter-in-law and the girls in her family.

BLACK FRIDAY Girl’s Night Out Shopping Extravaganza!

I can just hear some of you right now as you read this saying/thinking:

“YUCK!”

“NEVER!”

“Only Crazies go out shopping on Black Friday!”

(I used to be one of these!)

Then there are some of you reading this that have a secret smile slowly forming at the corners of your mouth.  You know who you are!

Your mind is beginning to race.

Admit it – by now you are already starting to think about your plan, beginning to map out your excursion.  You’ve got the bug!

Black Friday Shopping is a crazy “tradition” here in the United States that is designated as “Opening Day” of Christmas Shopping Season (even though Christmas decorations are ridiculously already out now in the beginning of October at most every discount and department store).

Black Friday occurs on the last Friday in November – the day after Thanksgiving each year.  There is a huge hype created by most every retail store by advertising (weeks ahead of time) very specific special sales and discounts for just this day.   The special sale price is usually on particularly popular items, sometimes hard to get, and most always in very limited quantities causing waiting lines to form hours (and sometimes even days) before the sale begins for savvy, smart, competitive, mentally-deranged shoppers.

I used to laugh at those half-baked lunatics that stormed Target to save $10.

Now I’m in the club.

It’s not that I even ever really have anything in particular on my list that I have to get.  For me, it’s just about being with the girls, celebrating a “tradition,” and doing something completely different than I ever do any other day of the year.

We meet up at around 10 or 11pm Thanksgiving evening so we can start our shopping at the stroke of midnight to take advantage of every second.  We shop our way through the entire time we are usually snug as a bug in bed and don’t quit until noon for a full 12 hours of laughing, shopping, eating, rubbing our feet, rubbing our eyes, creating secret pacts over gift selections, hiding from the others to purchase something someone gasped over, helping hide others from the one buying something for the other, bumping into friends, eating breakfast at 3am and lunch by 10 am.  We shop until our feet and eyes can take no more.  Until we’ve laughed so hard our throats hurt.  Until our wallets are empty and our trunk is full.

We are creating bonds, creating memories, creating traditions.  It’s so much more than shopping.  It’s an event to look forward to, look back on, tell stories about, grow close together through.  I think it should be called Fun Friday – not Black Friday.

What would truly make this Black for me would be if it were cancelled, if we didn’t do it, if I wasn’t invited/included.  It has come to be an annual event I look forward to.  A special time with the girls that gives me some kind of nonsensical, ludicrous pleasure.

Yep – I joined the club.  The Annual Fun Friday Club.  I think I am going to put this name up to a vote this year 🙂

Call me crazy, but don’t call me at 3pm that day (zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi