Perhaps that was a bit of a dramatic statement. But it is nonetheless true.
You see, my standard morning routine is to get up, eat breakfast, and then turn the computer on. But today I decided that, instead, I was going to turn the TV on...which, yes, is probably not much of a better choice. Anyway, somehow I wound up watching the news (an unusual occurrence). A couple of stories into the program, a reporter popped on the screen standing in front of an Angel Tree (one of those big Christmas trees covered in tags with names and wishlists for underprivileged families that you can pull off and shop for). The reporter mentioned that, although the deadline for donating gifts is this Monday, there are still some 6,000 families in the DFW area that have yet to be claimed. That caught my attention, but so did the fact that the reporter was "coming to me live from Northpark Mall," which is the swanky fancy mall about 5 minutes from my apartment.
And so I thought...I ought to go and adopt an angel.
So I texted my friend Miranda and told her my plan, and invited her to join in. She enthusiastically agreed, and off we went to the mall. I was shopping for "E. Raymundo," a 3-year old boy who needed a winter outfit and wanted a Spiderman toy. Miranda picked a tag for a 9-month old, who needed tennis shoes and wanted a musical toy. Let the shopping begin!
I've shopped for similar programs in the past, and I LOVE when I get to shop for little kids because I never get to shop for that kind of stuff (the woes of being a single and childless 23 year old...but not really, because I'm in grad school and also recognize that I don't actually want my own child at the moment, even if I wouldn't mind borrowing someone else's on occasion). So we browsed through cute baby clothes and looked at all kinds of adorable toys, and, after four hours of shopping, ended up with the following: a red striped sweatshirt, a white t-shirt, black corduroys, and a stuffed Spiderman doll for my angel, and baby converses, socks, and a stuffed lion that sings and counts for Miranda's angel. It took us a long time to find everything primarily because we never go in the shops that sell baby things, so we didn't know where we were going and our route was awful...we basically criss-crossed the mall five times throughout the day. Our feet were absolutely killing us by the end of the day, but it was definitely worth it.
The other thing that I enjoyed about the day is that, like I mentioned earlier, Northpark is a swanky mall - the kind where your purchases come in paper bags with rope handles and tissue paper spewing out the top. The anchor stores are Nieman-Marcus and Nordstrom, and a lot of the stores are designer boutiques like Oscar de la Renta, Burberry, and Betsy Johnson, besides the Tiffany and Co. that sparkles all shiny-like next to a small coy pond with live ducks. I very rarely shop here because most of the stores are out of my price range, and I feel guilty buying expensive things for myself...but I feel less guilty buying them for other people. In fact, it's hard for me to put a cap on spending in these kinds of situations, because I want to just keep putting more and more things in my bag to give to little "E. Raymundo." And, once I start giving money to charities, I begin to realize just how much money I have compared to a lot of people, and that compels me to give even more. So it was nice to walk around the mall carrying a bunch of bags, and knowing that almost all of them were going to a good cause. And it's fun to think that a couple of underprivileged kids are going to have a winter outfit by Ralph Lauren and a stuffed lion from Nieman-Marcus.
As for me and Miranda, we had a great time: the mall was filled with groups of kids singing and playing instruments, and there's just something about helping kids have a good Christmas that puts you in a good mood. And we didn't leave completely empty handed ourselves...we had lunch at P.F. Changs (where, by the way, you can get an ENORMOUS bowl of DELICIOUS wonton soup for just $8), and rewarded ourselves with a couple of Auntie Anne's pretzels after our shopping journey was complete. I also went home with this little reindeer, who I saw at a Walgreens in St. Louis and fell in love with, but couldn't find in a Walgreens here in Dallas. He was hiding in the back of a puzzle shop...it was like destiny for us to meet.
And that is how deciding to spend less time on the internet changed the entire course of my day. Because of that decision, a couple of kids are going to have presents for Christmas, I got an intense mall-walking workout, ate delicious wonton soup, and found my little reindeer friend :)
Maybe you should spend less time online too...who knows what you might end up doing!
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