shopping last Friday.

I don't get it. Are the deals really that great?

I check out the advertisements. But I have never opened one up and said: Yes! That is exactly what I'm looking for.

I usually see things and think, oh Clin might like that. Ellis would love this. But they are usually not on my list. And come on, do I really need to add more to those lists?

I have never seen one advertisement that has motivated me to get up at 4 AM and park myself in a line.

I've always wanted to go. Just to see what the fuss is about. But something would have to be practically free to pull me in.

I did mosey on over to Wal-Mart last Friday around 10:00. Because I was alone. Because I could. It wasn't crazy. A bit busy. But I wasn't pushing a cart. The only difference from a usual visit to the Mart? I couldn't stop searching. Searching for a deal. It's the day after Thanksgiving. The prices are supposed to be rock bottom. Where is my amazing find? And the more I searched, the less I found. I wasn't searching for a doorbuster, just something that said to me:

I am cheap. You must purchase me because you will never be able to find me at this price again.

Nothing. Everyone else was loading up on toys. But the prices didn't seem that different from every other day. And I felt bad. Like I was missing out. Like I needed to buy something NOW. So I left the store with some blocks - because they seemed to say:

I'm the last available doorbuster. Buy me now or you will miss your chance.

So I bought them. And stood in the 20 items or less line waiting for the woman in front of me who was trying to price match Connect 4 and Trouble to an ad she thought said $6.00 but couldn't remember the store. And she asked the cashier, multiple times, to check different ads for her. What???? Is that really the cashier's responsibility? To find us better deals?

I left with my lousy bag of blocks and a hollow feeling inside because I still didn't know if I truly found a good deal.