After Thanksgiving

cbyusBy Charlotte Byus
Black Friday is not in my vocabulary. I always volunteered to work on this day, just about as long as I can remember. That is, except, when we spent the holiday up at the ranch with my parents. At every job, there were ladies who loved this day almost as much as the giving at Christmas. Not so much me. Even when our girls were little, RR and I did our shopping together as much as possible. Also, he was one of those dad’s that took his girls shopping for their mom. Boy did I luck out choosing him! Now the first born, Dianne, could not stay on track, there was always the newest style in their department or the newest fragrances for teens. The second born hated shopping almost as much as the first born loved to shop. Poor RR. But he persevered because he loved the girls and the season. Our anniversary is the 12th of December so he was able to combine both occasions into one shopping trip.

The first few years before Mom and Dad moved to the farm and before we had a child, RR took my Dad shopping for Christmas presents. Dad loved to shop. Well, let me rephrase that statement. Dad loved to give Mom, my sister and I presents, not so much the crowds or the parking. In the Heights of Houston, we had a new mall area out on North Sheppard that included a really big Sears, Penny’s and a few other stores – it was a strip center. That was long before we had inside malls. So they spent most of their time out there instead of downtown Houston. Whereas, Dolores, Mom and I loved to head downtown to all the stores such as Foleys, the Smart Shop, all the shops that had Christmas animations in their big windows. We dressed for the occasion, heels, stockings, dresses and sometimes a hat and coat. You know we dressed to the nines.

I always visited Santa at Foleys and they had a Wonderland that I still remember. I still have some of those black and white pictures. Of course, my hair had just been permed, styled in ringlets.

A lot has changed since then. We have big box stores and large shopping malls and people head out after dinner or at 2 am for the best deals. I know I am old, but I am sure glad I have memories of olden days. I must say the young people will some day say the same thing about all the fun of being out in the early morning and getting the great deals they wanted for their families. Oh, I left out the most fun of all, for the old and the young – The Nutcracker Market that is for all ages with good walking shoes.

Hope your Thanksgiving days were filled with family, fun and friends.

Stay safe and warm.

[11-26-2018]

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