Saturday morning was the “Mom’s Market” consignment sale in a neighboring town. Jenny and I had gone last year for the first time, not really knowing what we had gotten ourselves into – she was hugely pregnant and I had the mistaken idea that it would be an appropriate place to bring my daughter. It turned out there was room for neither Jenny’s belly or Kate’s stroller. We were also unaware at the time that if the sale starts at 9:00 a.m., one must in fact be in line long before that. However, tons of gently-used, high-quality, low-priced baby gear, toys and clothes were there for the taking. We were in love.
This year, I searched high and low for information on when this Prada sample sale was going to take place so I could mark it on my calendar. Unfortunately, by the time we uncovered the secret time and location, Jenny was already booked for that morning.
So, Saturday finally arrived. I was pumped. Kate had spent the night with Papa and Nana the night before… so on the one day in history that it was actually going to be possible for me to sleep in, I set the alarm for 7:15. I rolled out of bed, threw on some jeans, ran a brush through my hair and hit the road. (The other moms were loving comparing themselves to me that morning).
I arrived at the sale location just before 8:00 – I was an hour early and still the line already contained 50 or more people. Had they camped out? Ugh! For some reason, I thought I should get my Visa out and ready to go at that point… and I couldn’t find my wallet. I thought I had left it in the other car. I dumped everything out of my purse, hoping to find a renegade credit card or at least my checkbook, but to no avail. I called Andy (and woke him up on the one day he could have slept in) and was on the verge of tears telling him what was going on. He told me to calm down that he’d bring me my wallet, bless his heart. But then I thought to check the floor where my purse had been sitting and sure enough, my wallet was laying right there. Crisis averted.
I went to get in line with all the other crazy moms. I was feeling pretty smart because I had thought to bring a book and a half-read magazine as a way to kill time. However, being the genius I am, I picked up Harry Potter number one, when really I am on book two in my quest to become the last person in the universe to have read these books. So much for that. I read the rest of my magazine, but that only bought me about 10 minutes of entertainment.
So instead, I started people-watching. I got a closer look at the moms in the front of the line, with their lawn chairs and three-course breakfast. I was pretty sure I saw remnents of the campfire they had built the night before. I heard the woman behind me saying that her husband was going to join her shortly, and that she purposefully had her in-laws come into town each year the weekend of this sale, so they could watch the kids. Hey, whatever it takes, I guess. Then there was the mother-daughter team in front of me – I think they should try out for “The Amazing Race” because if they can map out a plan to attack that sale the way they did, they can definitely win a million on that show.
Finally, after an hour that seemed like a day, they opened the door. The stampede began. I was getting caught up in the excitement myself, I will admit. I headed straight for the gym (it was at an elementary school), where I thought the strollers would be. Unfortunately, they weren’t in the gym, and by the time I had figured that out, made my way back to the door and asked for directions to the strollers, I was mad that I had wasted at least four precious minutes.
I struck out in the stroller department, so I went to the clothes. The clothes were hung up on long racks that lined the hallway of the school. They were so jammed together that it was hard to see what was there. I was apparently not moving quickly enough, because the mom behind me was all up in my business. I was relieved when she sighed loudly and then finally went around me. I heard one mom say, “I am so mean when I come here!!” Yikes.
I actually found some really great stuff – I bought a lot of Gymboree and Gap stuff that I would have never paid retail for. So it was worth it. But by the time I got in line to pay for my loot, I felt like I had just run a marathon. I was completely physically and emotionally exhausted!
As I headed to my car, I saw a dad emerge from the madness. He looked at me and said, “That is the scariest place I have ever been in my life.”
I had to agree. But you can bet I will be there again next year!
