Back to Reality (part five of a series)
Okay, seriously, the month of December cannot possibly be “reality.” I don’t know what I was thinking. This past weekend was full of Christmas fairs and Christmas trees, and I’m still tired today. But that’s more for another time. How about that Thanksgiving story!
I had never been in a Kohl’s store before, so I did not know what to expect. Actually, I did have some expectations, mostly revolving around “yet another Target,” but they were proven wrong. Kohl’s is apparently much more like a J.C.Penny’s on steroids.
The place was massive. We were greeted at the door by festive sweaters and pink pantsuits. I think Kate almost bought the pink pantsuit. She loves pink. Kate and I wandered off and quickly lost her mom. I found exactly what I wanted to get for someone on my list and was ecstatic to find that it was on sale. We got sidetracked by the shoe department, but escaped without spending any extra money.
Halfway around the store, we found Kate’s mom again, in the flatware department. Other things were selected, carts were filled up, and we headed for the front of the store to check out. Kate’s mom said that when she went through there, the line had been absolutely disgusting, but when we arrived, we were first in line! By the time all three of us had rung up, however, the line was reaching further than I could see around the piles of future presents. Such great timing! Kohl’s was by far the best shopping experience (though the best deals were at Bob’s).
After cramming yet more bags into the back of the Pacifica, we finally left that shopping center to go across the street to Target (pronounced “Tar-jay,” for you classless types :-D). Just like a good mom should do, Kate’s mom reminded us that we probably had to pee. Conveniently, Target has a bathroom right when you walk in. Newly invigorated, we headed into our last stop for the day.
We breezed past the first half of the store, and I grabbed one small present on our way over to the Christmas section. We split up, looking for an artificial tree for Mike and Kate’s mom and dad. We arrived at a “frosted” 8 foot model, and as the clerk was helping us get a box down from a high up shelf, we discovered that once again, our cart was missing! This time, however, my small present was not to be found on any adjacent shelf. We were not pleased.
A new cart was found, and we crammed the box-o-tree into the main box. The child seat area was soon filled with ornaments and other bits and bobs, and I found yet another perfect gift for someone on my list. After I went running off to replace my purloined small present, we met up again in the middle of the store, when Kate and her mom had just picked out a replacement mirror for our hosts.
It was here that a strange man with a goatee said, “Diane!” I blinked a few times, trying to remember who he was, and he turned and yelled out, “Jill, come here!” OH! It was John, Jillian’s husband. Last time I saw him, he was beardless, and I was very confused by the transformation. Hugs, greetings, and goodbyes all happened too quickly, and we were suddenly checking out and slip sliding across the icy parking lot. For some reason, I was holding the mirror. I did not drop it.
It took some severe reorganization to get the tree, mirror, and newly purchased bags into the car. I was surrounded by bags in the back seat, and I think Kate had a bag in her lap up front. We were done.
Mike called to ask where we were, and we let him and the other boys know we would be back soon. Within an hour, we were packing up our stuff, hugging, and saying goodbye, all too quickly. Due to the proliferation of stuff in both cars, we ended up splitting up the girls and boys for the ride back to Massachusetts. Due to our respective hunger, we ended up driving straight to the Chinese restaurant. I don’t know what the boys were playing in their car, but our vehicle’s speakers were singing Christmas carols with us all the way down 495.
Thankfully, I was talked out of ordering three “gooey” (I don’t know where the hell that came from, but that’s what Mike’s whole family calls stir fry dishes) items, after we had already picked out some fried rice and the pu-pu platter. We didn’t even finish all that among the five of us. My excuse is that I’ve never in my life gotten a pu-pu platter. There’s fire involved!
After eating too much for the third day in a row (my stomach and associated digestive system was by this point screaming bloody murder), we went back to our various apartments to sleep. And sleep we did.
I snapped awake at 8:30 again, and went to baking up some breakfast. I made banana bread. I made little cranberry muffins. I made huge blueberry muffins. And I waited patiently for everyone else to wake up. Mike’s mom was up shortly after me, and joined me in watching some TiVoed food network programming while we waited. After Mike woke up, we watched some Iron Chef America (the asparagus episode – seriously? tongue? gross!). When Morimoto clenched his victory, I finally caved to my hunger and ate some muffins. Kate and her dad arrived shortly after.
We spent the new few hours eating quick bread, lounging around, planning for the day’s craziness, and waiting for the arrival of my family…