A Little Over The Top Maybe? And Thankful That I'm Not

I don't know about the rest of you but "back in the day", a trip to the mall was quite the treat - much like going out to dinner. I can remember being in about the 7th or 8th grade and convincing my mom to take me to "The Limited" or "County Seat" to do some back-to-school shopping!

It was truly an adventure, a big deal! Mom would even treat us to a pretzel and a soda! WOW! And we were happy with that! Or better yet, if she could swing it, we'd get one of the fizzy, slushy drinks from - none other than - Orange Julius! Oh my!

Today, however, a trip to the mall is almost no big deal...that is...unless...you happen to be shopping in the biggest mall in the world... Where not only can you shop for jeans, Vans and something skimpy and inappropriate at Abercrombie & Fitch...


...but you can ride roller coasters...


and climb on/walk through bigger than life-sized buildings made of Legos!


I don't know. God knows I love my country and all that it stands for and the men and women who have and do fight for the freedoms we experience today (including having roller coasters in malls) - but sometimes I think we simply have too much.

I didn't see anything wrong with getting excited about going to the mall with my mom and getting treated to an Orange Julius and a pretzel. It was that simple and, well, I turned out okay.

I'm thankful for those days and those memories. They make me giggle now. I'm thankful that so many simple things/tasks/events are what helped make me the person I am today. I'm thankful that I got to experience more "grassroots" stuff.

I like the basics, don't you?