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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