WHAT BLACK FRIDAY MEANS TO ME

This is actually the first Black Friday we've been around for in years.  Last year, we were in Austria.  The year before that, it was Cancun!  In 2005, we made our first trip to the UK.  The year before that we had just moved to California.  And 2003 was our first year with the babies and, of course, with Mema.  :)  But it's the 2002 Black Friday that I remember most fondly.

I was 6 months pregnant then, still working, and nearing my max weight of 209 lbs pretty rapidly.

I'd somehow gotten it into my head that I really wanted to go shopping the day after

 Thanksgiving, and Amy, rarely saying no to me at that point, reluctantly agreed.  So, off we go to the mall where we spent the entire day fending off questions about just how past due I was, whether I was carrying quadruplets, etc, etc, etc.  And despite my actually wearing slip-on sneakers that day (for those of you who can even believe that I owned a pair), and despite the fact that we stopped every other store for a...um...light snack, and despite the fact that Amy was carrying all 10 bags herself, the contractions began setting in around 3pm.

Amy quickly ushered me past the hordes of other shopaholics, struggled to get me into the truck, and got me on the phone with my OB.  And so began the first day of mandatory bedrest, which lasted through the holidays, through a move to another house, into the new year, into their 40th week, and up to their due date.

So, rather than do my part to help stimulate the economy today, I think I'm gonna wrap myself up in the monsters and remember everything it took to get them here.

Anyway...there's always Cyber Monday to shop.