Observations From The Mall

I used a vacation day today to take care of some business and to take the 'rents out to the mall for our annual Christmas shopping trip. We just got back about an hour ago and we're all three so tired we're lifeless.  I haven't heard a peep from any of us since we got home and collapsed in our respective easy chairs.  It was a fun, family-bonding shopping trip.  Collectively, we're about 75% finished with our holiday shopping. Which is a record for my portion of the shopping.   There was no drama, which is rare for a trip to the mall during Christmas, but I do have a few observations from our trip to the mall.

First of all, let me give some advice to tired shoppers like me:  if you are going to buy a large, bulky gift for someone, park by the store where you plan to purchase said large, bulky gift - not at the exact opposite end of the mall.  Take this evening's trip to the mall, for example.  We parked in our favorite spot by the main entrance to J.C. Penney's, at one end of the mall.  We always park there regardless of where we need to go in the mall; it's a tradition.  We purchased the large, bulky gift at Sears, on the far, far, opposite end of the mall.  Believe me when I tell you it was not one of my more well-thought out plans.  Dad was still in the bookstore looking around, and Mom was in the check-out line in another store, so I was lugging the large, bulky gift by myself through Sears and through the full length of the mall out to the Odyessy.  It wasn't that it was that heavy; it was just large, bulky and awkward.  Never again.  Did I mention that this occurred after I'd already made two trips out to the Odyessy to drop off bags full of gifts?

Another observation made me almost as tired as lugging the large, bulky gift out to the van.  As we were walking to the food court, we saw a brave young mother with her children.  I say she was brave because she was pushing twins in a stroller while herding along four other little kids.  Yes, that's six kids all totalled.  Now you see why I called her brave.  I realize that some of those kids could not have been hers, but they all looked alike so I'm guessing they were all hers.  The 'rents and I were almost frozen in awe of her; we didn't know whether to go up to her and ask if we could shake her hand or tell her we would be praying for her.