A Very BLACK Friday

Our Black Friday began the night before, driving home in the BLACK of night after celebrating Thanksgiving out of town.  We were beat.  We had to get up early the next morning to take my boy to big fancy mall to perform with his band for three hours. Those BLACK Friday Christmas shoppers needed entertained.  I lay in bed that BLACK night going over in my mind all the boy would need for tomorrow's performance, (His first performance with the advanced band in formal attire): white dress shirt, BLACK pants, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The next morning came pretty early.  We were actually on schedule to leave on time (a rarity for us) when my big strapping boy comes in the kitchen, 10 minutes before it's time to leave, and queried, "Doesn't the advanced band wear a BLACK dress shirt instead of a white one?" Panic strikes! I rush to pull up the e-mail that has the instructions for that day's performance.  He's right.  There are seven minutes left before we have to leave. Okay, options, what are our options?  Does he have a BLACK shirt he can use?  NO.  Does his dad have a BLACK shirt he can use?  NO. Do I?  Doesn't matter, he wouldn't wear it anyway.  "Mom, I don't have BLACK shoes anymore either." He comes out of his room wearing his BLACK pants. "Mom, these pants are too tight." I look.  Not only are they tight, they are too short.  When is this kid going to stop growing?

Well, at this point our two options are obvious.  1. Call the band director and tell him we can't make it.  2. Since the performance is a long one, buck up, call the band director, tell him our dilemma, rush to the store, and arrive as soon as we can.  We choose option two.  The band director is so great.  He laughs and tells us to get there when we can.  So off we go.

Go? Go where?  That's when it hit me.  We were about to go shopping for shoes and clothes, in a mad rush, on BLACK Friday!  I avoid the stores like the plague on that particular day of the year.  I hate crowds. Well, as ridiculous as it may sound, with visions of turmoil, and long lines, we (my husband, my son, and myself) dash off to the store.

First stop - Target. Miracle of miracles we find a shirt right off the bat.  Then I start looking for pants. I think I'm looking for a 36 " X 36". The store doesn't have them that long.  What?  Do I have to start shopping at a big and tall shop for this boy?  My pocketbook is starting to feel pained at the thought. We find a 36" X 34".  "Try these.  They'll have to do."  While I wait for the boy to change, my hubs goes off in search of shoes.  I begin to look around.  Hmm, there are definitely more people than there would usually be, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. I started to relax a little.  Hubs returns and says there are shoes in the shoe department he thinks will work.  The boy comes out. The waist is too big and they are definitely long enough. How can these be long enough and the ones at home be too short?  The boy says they will do.  Off we go tho the shoe department.  While the boy tries on the BLACK shoes, I try to solve the mystery of the pant lengths. (Envision light bulb turning on here.) "Boy (I really called him by his name), did you try on the pants I put in the dryer to wrinkle release or the pants that were in your room?" He answered. I said, "Those were the wrong pants!  I think the ones in the dryer still fit.  Do we buy these just in case or risk it?"  The shoes fit and we carry on the discussion as we make our way to the register. We buy one BLACK dress shirt and one pair of BLACK shoes and that's all. Guess what?  No waiting in line.  Not at all. I think Someone was watching out for us.

As we drive home my son says, "This day is an epic fail".  If I had a nickle for every time my boy said "epic", I would be a rich woman.  "Are you kidding me," I replied.  "This day is an epic save.  Do you realize we just found everything in one store when it could have easily taken three.  And do you realize we were in and out of that store in no time flat on BLACK Friday? It was more like an epic miracle."  Sometimes teenagers with little life experience and too many hormones just need help getting the right perspective.  And you KNOW what his response was, "Whatever."

We go home so the boy can change and get the pants that we really, really hope fit him.  Dad rushes off to the nearby music store to get the boy a new, badly needed, BLACK music stand. My boy finished changing.  You should have seen him. ( Wait, you will in the pictures at the end.)  He was so tall and handsome.  And everything fit fine.  No luck with the music stand.  He's been using an old, decrepit, silver stand for three years.  One more performance won't hurt.

Hubs drops us off at the mall and goes to park the car while the boy and I try to figure out where the band is playing. It's then we discover we are at the wrong mall and we should be at the larger mall across the street. My boy says again, "I can't believe what an epic fail this day is."  We needed another perspective check, "The only way this day would be a "fail" is if we gave up.  Mr. Hallman knows we're going to be late.  You're still going to have a good bit of time to play with your band.  As long as we don't give up, we haven't failed." "Mom, you're just too optimistic and unrealistic."  I think in my head, "Whatever."

My boy and I had quite a bit of a walk. We had to cross the street, go in the mall, ask four people for directions, go up two flights, and cross a bridge to get to the other section of the mall to FINALLY get to his band.  Now is the time I should let you know that my boy was still recuperating from a badly sprained ankle.  This was the first major walk he had since getting off of crutches. 

 

 The boy still has two hours he can play with the band. He (the tall guy on the left) prepares to join in.  Most of the band gets to sit but the trumpets stand. I was a little concerned about my son's ankle but a boy's gotta do what a boy's gotta do.

He made it and he is playing.  I'm so proud.  He and his friends were glad to see each other. Can you hear the Christmas music?

 

Here's the band in their BLACK attire.

Here's the band director with the great attitude doing his thing.  And who's that guy on the bench in the background?  I think I know him.  He looks like someone I married once. He bears an uncanny resemblance to my son.

This is my good friend, Lorrie, and a fellow band mom.  Our boys have known each other since they were babes.  And look, she's dressed all in BLACK from head to toe.

Another friend and band mom.  She is smiling because when she arrived earlier that morning it was freezing and her boy forgot his jacket.  But that's not why she's smiling.  She's smiling because when she went into the nearest big name department store to buy a jacket, she got a super BLACK Friday deal and paid $14 for a $70 jacket.

This is her boy's foot. He's a drummer. I took a picture of this because she pointed out that there was usually a drum in front of that peddle.  And even though there was not one now, her boy was pushing on the peddle out of habit. Kinda funny. I love this family.

During the two hour wait, my husband and I got to go to lunch.  It was almost like a date.

My boy and his buds goofing around and posing for the cameras afterward.

Yep, this day was an epic save.

For more information on this home school band, check out the following link:

 http://www.ocm-arts.org/index.html