He's Watching You!

    There are several times of year that I will not go near the mall, or Wal-mart. Not that I enjoy going to either of them normally. One of those times is Christmas of course. There is nothing worse than people filled with that holiday spirit of "Must Buy! Must Have!" A person takes their life into their own hands shopping then. If you do not believe me, go out on Black Friday and watch. I have seen combat zones that are friendlier.
     I talk of something almost as sinister. It is the Tax Free weekend. Im not sure how many states have this. Tennessee definitely does. This weekend is set so that parents can buy the clothes and school supplies their children need, without paying any taxes. It is a great help. Everyone with children knows how expensive getting ready for the school year can be. Any penny you can save can be spent later. Especially, when they bring home the fund raisers. You have to buy that case of candy bars that they have to sell for school. Yours may be selling cookies, or wrapping paper.
     The sale, unfortunately, only lasts for one weekend. You can imagine the pandemonium that unleashes. My wife has told me horror stories about it. This is from a woman that has braved the midnight sales at Best Buy and other major locations. She made an excellent decision to do the shopping early this year. We took the children shopping several weeks prior to the sale. There had to be a lot less stress. I can only imagine trying to keep up with three children in that chaos. I'm usually gone with the military, have to clean the gutters, mow the lawn, or anything else that keeps me away from shopping.
     I am probably like most husbands. We have a great fear of the ferocious beasts that roam the floors of sales. They are the dreaded Matriarcus Severus. This creature has the ability to take a persons arm off at the elbow with 1 bite. Especially if it is reaching into a sale bin. Don't you dare reach for that last pair of size two sparkly sketchers. There may be more than one waiting to pounce open the prize. I would rather be caught in an ambush than deal with that tenacity.
      My twisted mind can see some mothers planning their attack strategy for weeks, prior to the sale. They have their primary and secondary routes prepared, along with the quickest exit routes. This is the type of person I see speeding through the parking lot in a supped up minivan. She does a power slide into a parking space, cutting off another such vehicle. Before the engine dies, she is doing a power slide over the hood. The side door slides open, as four children dressed as ninjas come rolling out. They all sprint into the store, scattering shoppers as they burst in.

     Getting children ready for school is stressful enough. They want the most current and fashionable apparel and supplies. I didn't know you had stick glue with different colored caps. God help you if you don't get the right color. We shouldn't be nasty parents in the process. Our children are watching us. Lets help each other out. They are learning from us. Remember, Santa is always watching. He knows, if you are good or bad.