I have never been a fan of shopping, so the Black Friday mayhem is like my worst nightmare. Fortunately, Mitzi never really wanted to go shopping either. Which was a good thing because she’d tend to see things she didn’t need. And stores were often very loud, confusing, and an all around assault on her senses.
I have probably deleted a bazillion extra email ads from retailers this week as they amped up their marketing for the holiday season. I ran across this quote and it summed up exactly what I’ve learned and how I feel about “stuff” this year after recently watching someone’s life be lost to Alzheimer’s at 58 years old. It has reminded me all over again that the gift of presence is the best gift to give.
I love this picture of Mitzi on Black Friday in 2017. We weren’t buying anything. Or standing in any lines. We weren’t spending a dime, in fact. The best deal we found that day was not in a store. It was a hot cup of coffee (the cup had hearts on it, no less), while sitting at her best friend’s breakfast table and listening to the stories from Thanksgiving. I loved watching Mitzi smile and laugh at her lifelong friend, Sandra. And I thought back then, as I do right now, that this is the kind of stuff that really matters most…????
