shopping

Today Doug drove Anna and myself into Traverse City for the Black Friday sales. It was the first time I had ever gone and it was quite an experience. We found a few things that we could use and stood in long lines in order to purchase them. We saw a few friends while out. There was a bit of snow which made it nice.

A very long time ago mother and I and my sister, Nancy, would get on the Burlington train in our suburb of Chicago and ride to Marshall Field's where we would shop all day and eat in the restaurant under the Christmas tree that was many stories high.

It was a wonderland for us. We would ride the escalators up and down. Just looking at all the people was breathtaking. Listening to them talk to each other and the different kinds of clothes they all wore opened up a different world to us.

I can still remember the toy section--we never had many toys at home, after all it was the late 1950's and I had no idea that such a variety existed.

Lunch in the tea room was so fancy. Some years we would go with our cousins and Aunt Shirley, Mom's sister. Those were special times that I will hopefully never forget.

Every year we would make the trip to Marshall Field's. Even after I was married with my own children we would go-now just Mom and myself for a day of shopping and lunch in the tea room.

Mom was always so much fun and loved to go to her favorite store-Marshall Field's.

I worked there myself the year before I was married in 1969. I wasn't there during Christmas so I didn't get to see how the tree was all arranged.

As my own children married Doug and I would sometimes travel to Chicago to go with them to view the windows of Marshall Field's in all their Christmas glory and to walk through the store just to see what might be there.

The store changed and it was never as it had been in those wonderful days of shopping with mom--but even now if I mention Marshall Field's mom will brighten up and remember some of the good times there.

Those were the good old days of shopping--sales ladies wanting to help you--packages nicely wrapped--the bus to catch in the snow and hurrying to get to Union Station in time to make the train home.

What glorious memories, may they never fade.