An Old Family Tradition

Since before I was born my family has had a whole host of "traditions". "Buckeyes" are required holiday eating. "Euchre" is our favorite card game (and there's an unwritten rule that if you're a couple, you cannot be partners at the euchre table. Period.). And a lot of others that are just too weird to put into writing :)

But one of my favorites has always been Christmas shopping on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. There was a time when the women folk would take the train downtown to the big city and hit the only major department store. The one with the big Christmas tree outisde. They used to have a big sleepover where there was much craziness and near-nudity (and I don't even think there was any drinking). Oh, the stories I have heard!

As time progressed, they switched from the train to a charter bus trip. These are the shopping trips that I remember from my youth. It was a little over an hour ride down but it seemed like days. We were there waiting for the bus at the crack of dawn. I can't remember ever missing a year.

And these women. They shaped my personality. They were fun. And funny. And fun-loving. And cheap. We would always, always have lunch in the restaurant/lounge at the department store. Every year, my elderly aunt (Ruth) would flirt shamelessly with the 20-something bartender and drink a white wine spritzer which always made her lip go numb (incidentally, I knew the instant she died because my lip went numb. Never had before. Never has since. Take it for what it's worth). She always bought whatever money-making gizmo he was trying to sell and half the time she talked the rest of the ladies into buying some as well. One year it was light-up bow ties and visors. That was a fun Christmas for the men-folk!

One year my aunt (E) and I tried on fancy dresses just for kicks. I still have those photos somewhere! And I think that was the same year we pretended to be mannequins and scared the crap out of some middle-aged men! LOL!

All of this is just to say that I like absolutely adore this tradition. And for the first time, I'm taking my girls. My girls. I feel like I've been waiting for this my whole life. I know they won't remember it, but I will. No, we're not going down to the big city. We'll probably go to a local mall. But it will be an adventure. And I'll probably take pictures. And if they were older, they would probably be embarrassed. But, above all else, I want them to understand that it's OK to have fun. I think the women in my family may have been who they had in mind when they coined the phrase "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." I.can't.wait!!