Black Friday 2013

Ok, ok.  I might be opening up yet another can of worms with this...but ya'll know how I am about airing my opinion.

So, I am a dedicated Black Friday shopper.  I love it.  I love the sales, I love the excitement in the air, I love everything about it.

And here's the thing.  I think Black Friday totally gets a bad rap.  I know, I know - the whole trampling-people-to-get-deals-one-day-after-giving-thanks deal... but it's not like that. 

Let me say this: I have never, ever dealt with such pleasant, happy, kind people as I do each Black Friday.  The media is full of stories of people getting pushed and trampled, people throwing punches and getting into fights over Xbox deals and whatnot. 

But they don't have stories like I experience every single year.  This year, my mother-in-law had been waiting in a line for almost an hour, when Chris called to ask if she could pick up one more thing.  She would have had to lose her place in line in order to get it in time.  When she questioned an employee, asking if there was any way someone could grab it for her, a gentleman with a group in line in front of her offered to run and get it - simply out of the kindness of his heart. 

Or like the sweet mother-daughter pair in line behind us at Target, who struck up pleasant and happy conversation with us the whole long line wait.

Or the exchange I overheard when there was one last movie on the rack - "You go ahead, I have enough movies! You can have it!"

Or the kind lady who price-checked some pillows for me and yelled the price across the aisle when she heard me wondering out loud how much they were.

Or the people who offered my eight-months-pregnant self a place to sit while in line.

Or stories of people sharing coupons they weren't using; sharing stories of good deals they got and where; and asking opinions on their purchases.

Out of the hundreds of people I interacted with during our couple of hours at Black Friday sales, I heard only two - TWO - negative, mean comments.  Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE else was happy, pleasant, full of "Happy Thanksgivings" and "Good luck shopping!". 

So if you don't want to join in on the craziness, of course don't.  But don't let the negative naysayers in the media convince you that you will be trampled to death by greedy horrible people who are desperate for a $99 TV.  It's actually more likely that a stranger will give you a helping hand and offer you a place to sit.