I wouldn’t have driven on the streets of my town today, except my adult child had to be at work at 4:30 AM till 11:30 AM and going back tonight. I could not believe how bad the traffic was between 4 and 4:30 AM. Normally, I have avoided in the past driving on Black Friday AM traffic. I decided to go to a few of the large chain store since I was right there in the area and see what finds I could obtain for Christmas presents. I usually buy most of my Christmas presents online or gift cards put in the Christmas envelopes with very few boxes to mail. The cost of buying on the internet or eBay with sellers willing to gift wrap and send to the recipient for a small extra charge with the shipping cost is well worth it for a peace of mind compared to waiting in long lines in the cold, people pushing and shoving, grabbing items out of other people’s hands, just plain rude people that I experienced at such early hours. I ended up wasting precious hours of rest and sleep fighting my way through all that. Didn’t bring home much to say the least. Never again except to drive to and from the work place!

I found out later that 4 other major chain stores had opened at 4 AM. No wonder there was so much traffic out so early in the morning

I remember as a child how I was excited by Christmas. The thoughts of celebrating Jesus Christ’s birthday and Santa Claus coming. The shopping trips to the local Ben Franklin’s Five and Dime Store were fun and happy. I remember the huge old wooden floor store. I was always afraid of making the floor squeak. Anyway, getting to see all the new toys that were displayed for Christmas. Picking out for our list to give to our Mom. She always gave us on Thanksgiving afternoon the new Sears and Roebuck Toy Catalog to look at too for Christmas gift ideas. Helping to decorate the Christmas tree that night. Going to the local electric company to sit on Santa’s lap with my list. Life sure was much simpler back then. As a child believing in Jesus Christ and Santa Claus seemed so simple. No pushing and shoving, rude people. I remember people having manners and saying excuse me, thank you and please. It is sad to come to the realization that people have lost that sense of respect for other people and especially the elderly when out shopping even if it is a Black Friday.

The stress of this morning caused me to sit in the seat of my vehicle doing some deep breathing techniques to calm myself from my frayed nerves. I still had to eat when I got home because the few restaurants that were open were packed to the outer doors. Surprisingly, my blood sugar was at 168 after all I went through in those crowds. It shows that doing the deep breathing techniques work in reducing stress and my blood sugar level.