This story takes place a little over a year after Chris and I were married, and it’s another example of why I sometimes refer to him as my very own “Absent-Minded Professor” 🙂

I had to work the day after Thanksgiving. I get a call at the office around about noon. It’s Chris. He sounds upset. And irritated. “How’s your day been?” I ask. “Crazy! You would not believe what I had to go through today to get one of your Christmas presents!”

He then proceeds to tell me how he decided to go to the mall “early” today (remember, it’s Black Friday). So, he pulls into the mall parking lot at 9am and was horrified to see and bewildered as to why the entire parking lot was full. On the phone, he indignantly tells me that he had to park waaaaay in the corner of the grocery store parking lot next to the mall in order to get a space.

Now, if I drove into a mall parking lot on any given day and saw that it was so jam-packed with cars that there wasn’t even a space to park, I would just go home – come back later, you know? Not my husband 🙂 He walks over from the neighboring grocery store and into the mall, only to be shocked at the number of people walking around inside. I’m sure he was thinking to himself, “Gee, what’s going on at the mall today?” He really wanted to get one of my Christmas presents, so he forges on, getting pushed and banged around by the crowds of half-crazed shoppers who, unbeknown to him, have probably been waiting at the mall since 3am to get the sales.

He gets to the store, finally finds what he is looking for, and goes to stand in line. Another shock awaits him when he sees how long it is, but he was excited because they were giving away a free gift with purchase. So, he gets in line and waits. And waits. And waits some more. After an hour of waiting, there’s only 2 people left in front of him – victory is near! And then, he hears the announcement – all of the free gifts with purchase are gone. Darn it!!! So close! Understandably, he was aggravated. He pays for his purchase, makes his way out of the mall, and gets in the car. He then calls me on his cell phone to relay this harrowing experience.

After he tells me all about his stressful morning and catches his breath, I start to laugh. I ask him, “Don’t you know what day it is today?” Silence. “It’s Friday,” is his response. More laughter from me. “Yes, it’s Friday – it’s Black Friday, as in the day after Thanksgiving, as in the busiest shopping day of the year!” I go on to tell him about how people start waiting in line to shop at like 2am and how the malls open at 5am to catch all of the shoppers. And he thought that getting there at 9am was early, poor guy! Then, to add insult to injury, it turns out that the gift he got for me was the wrong size, so he had to return it 🙁 I think it’s safe to say that, from now on, Chris will always remember when Black Friday takes place!

I hope that you all had a safe, productive Black Friday!