Friday, December 18, 2009

a little something caused by the mall

went to the mall last night. my attendance at the domed shopping complex is rather rare nowadays. being at garden state plaza in jersey did trigger a cherished childhood memory though. that was about all it provided last night...oh wait, i did eat a Wendy's jr. bacon cheeseburger.

my family had some very specific traditions for the holiday season. one of my absolute favorites was gift buying. a friday night would be selected when the whole family would get to go to a sit-down restaurant (a special moment = no drive-thru dinners) then head to that magical land known as Sunvalley Mall in Concord, California.

once at the mall my parents would give us enough cash to buy a $5 present for each of our siblings. one parent would take me and a brother while the other parent took the other brothers. we would shop for the ones not with us and then switch so that we could pick up a gift for the sibling who was originally with us. sometimes big lug and i would pool our $5 together to get a gift for punkin or flex. i think it was just an excuse for me to find the gift, wrap it and big lug to get a cut of the gratitude action.

i vividly remember buying big lug model airplanes, punkin some legos and flex got books (i think). i bought my very first watch at the sunvalley mall's macy's day after christmas special. it was a swatch and almost pure white. i LOVED that watch.

last night garden state plaza was a poor substitute for the magic of those treasured childhood Christmas memories of spending time together as a family and thinking about giving gifts for my family.

i wish i could go back in time and enjoy those moments that much more...

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