something's wrong...

when people are trampling other people in a rush for stuff. black friday stuff. i don't care about shops opening at 4 a.m., or people skipping out on thanksgiving dinner with their families to camp out in front of big box stores (as long as they're not my people!). but the following story about today's trampling death of a walmart employee is absolutely sicking:

"...As many as a dozen people [were] knocked to the floor in the stampede of people trying to get into the Wal-Mart store, according to Nassau County Police detective Lt. Michael Fleming. The employee was "stepped on by hundreds of people" as other workers attempted to fight their way through the crowd, Fleming said."

i, for one, skipped out on black friday this year. well, kinda. i did hit up joann's late-morning to get supplies for holiday gifts that will be in the works soon. but other than that, i stayed home and kept my wallet buried safely in the depths of my diaper bag. i cannot recall the last time i sat out on this nationwide spending spree. in the past, i've been the kind who rises in the wee hours of morning to shop 'till i drop (armed with a master plan of stores to visit, stacks of ads, and a few snacks to give me that much-needed energy as i power through line after line). i typically convince jeremy to come along for the ride, and together, we basically talk each other into buying things. gifts for people on our lists. gifts for each other. gifts for ourselves.

this year we hardly even looked at the ads.

still, around 7:30 a.m., jeremy and i felt a little forlorn. like we were missing out on a great big party or something. we briefly considered going out (though we had nothing to buy) but steadied ourselves in the face of consumerist temptation.

less stuff. less stuff. less stuff. that's going to be my mantra for the next few weeks. if you see me talking to myself in a corner... feel free to ignore. or, you know, join along!