A Better Deal Than Walmart’s Price Match 

By Karen Friday

Are you kidding me? I always get in the wrong check-out line.

Maybe you’re a thrifty shopper. While I may clip and save a few coupons, I don’t take time to search sale papers and gain advantage of the best prices.

The Wrong Line

Who has time for this? And how much is actually saved? Yet, I found myself in the same position again. Behind the I-need-the-best-price person. Waiting.

Apparently, if you bring the ad with you and Walmart’s price is higher, they’ll match the competitor’s lower price. The shopper in front of me carefully showed the cashier each ad. One by one.

It’s too late to go to another register. A portion of my items for purchase filled the available space on the counter. I’d hoped to not be long. To grab what I needed and get out of there. Fast.

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He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands?

By Karen Friday

I’ve often wondered something about the first Christmas. The birth of Jesus. What was it like for Mary and Joseph to hold Him?

The Holy Scriptures tell us they laid Him in a manger. Yet, we can be sure they held the Christ child. Loving parents in awe of a baby. (Last week’s article, Baby’s First Christmas.)

And relatives had their turn. Everyone has those family members, “I can’t wait to get my hands on Him.” Who doesn’t want to hold a baby and the new addition to one’s family tree? Aunts and uncles. All the common kinfolk. To lay their eyes on Him. To behold Him. To hold Jesus.

They held God incarnate in their hands.

I’m reminded of a song I heard as a child. An old American Spiritual. Recorded by various artists and highlighted in movies from drama to comedy.

Lyrics telling us that He (God) has babies, me and you, the whole world in His hands. Wait? Jesus’ earthly relatives held Him, but God holds us? The entire world? Let’s check it out.

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Baby’s First Christmas

My grandchild

By Karen Friday

“Christmas won’t be about the baby.”

We’re expecting our first grandchild, a boy, in February. Excitement is stirring. Yay!

I’ve made purchases for January’s upcoming baby shower. In a gracious gesture, my daughter offered for those things to count as Christmas gifts—for her and her husband. (Tyler, if this is news to you, sorry.)

“Oh, no.” Clear in my response, this year would be no different. Christmas morning will yield filled stockings and presents for my husband, kids, son-in-law, and dogs. Checking my list and checking it twice (√—everyone’s been nice): Mike, Caleb, Megan and Tyler (gifts for them individually and as a couple), and the dogs, Sadie and Big-T.

The baby items would keep until later. Thinking, let’s celebrate Christmas as usual. We’ll be celebrating the baby next year.

Christmas would not be about the baby. Fa la la la la, la la la la.

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We Owe Monday An Apology—By Girl Friday

My husband Mike and son Caleb. The early 90’s

Do you believe in equality?

In most cases the answer is “of course.” Yet, it’s apparent we don’t award equal status to every day of the week. Poor Monday has no glory. (Just saying.) Definitions describe it as the second day of a week coming after Sunday and before Tuesday. That’s about it.

Consider other days and the kudos we grant them.

Tuesday. Noted for election day. Ruby Tuesday is a restaurant chain. Tuesday Morning is a retail store. When was the last time you heard a friend exclaim she was dreading Tuesday? Tuesday holds a likable place in our week hearts.

Wednesday. Mid-week and deemed hump day. A nickname cheering us to make the climb up the hill. Hold on. We will be on the other side soon.

Thursday. The pre-show reminding us Friday is only a day away. Yay! Enough said.

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Let’s Paint The Town Red

Photo credit, michaelcfriday.com

The Woo-Hoo Factor

It’s my birthday and I’ll smile if I want to, smile if I want to….

I celebrated a birthday this week—the first day of December. I painted the town red.

Have you ever wondered where the expression originated? How exactly does a person and friends go about painting the town red?

I found a plethora of answers:

• From Google. Celebrate. Have a party. Live it up. Have a ball.
• Fireworks and bonfires where the sky appears red. Set something on fire. (The Free Dictionary.)
• Visits to the bar and drunkenness. (Pity a fun saying brings such emptiness and misery.) (idiomeanings.com)
• Violence. Dating back to the 1800’s, an article in The Phrase Finder, “The allusion is to the kind of unruly behavior that results in much blood being spilt.”

No unruly behavior going on here. For our purposes, keep in mind the glitter and sparkle of painting the town red. The “woo-hoo!”

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