Christmas Comes to the Nittany Mall

"Peace begins with a smile." - Mother Teresa.

Several times a year, Bath & Body Works (a store that sells good-smelling health and beauty aids that are on the pricey side) sends me a coupon for a free item. Sometimes it's something small. Around the holidays, they get generous, and they give me a coupon for a free full-size item. Of course, I HAVE to go in to get my freebie!

And this year, they doubled up my holiday offers. They sent me a coupon for a full-size freebie that expires shortly after Thanksgiving, as well as a second coupon for a full-size freebie that expires around Christmas. There were assorted coupons for additional percentages off (including 25% off, which ended Nov. 24), that it turns out I was not able to use.

But I did manage - among many other errands - to hit the Nittany Mall for a quick shopping trip, and I got my two full-size free items. I had to buy something, anything, to use the first one. And I had to buy at least $10 worth of stuff to use the second one. 

So I selected 5 foaming hand soaps, on sale for $2.95 through end of day Monday, and we rang it up as separate purchases (1 soap, 1 free item; 4 soaps, 2nd free item). I walked out with a festive bag full of good-smelling stuff for around a total of $15.*

And I laughed, remembering a conversation I had one time with a lady who worked there. As I left, she said something generic, like "Have a good day." And I said, "I always leave here smelling better than when I came in!" I'll never forget her reply, which still puzzles and intrigues me: "I'm happy to hear you think so." (What does that even MEAN?)

I'm one of the original 80s mall dolls, which means that a mall used to be like a second home to me. That's where we went to shop, to socialize, to watch movies, to eat out. All of our friends were there! The mall feels very empty and echoey and weird to me now. So many stores are missing, but they still have a few good ones: Spencer's, Holiday Hair, Claire's.

I seized the opportunity to snap a few photos of the Christmas trees that are set up in the area where I suspect Santa will eventually entertain the children. Unlike in that one prior trip, I did NOT get accosted by any security guards, and I was not arrested, as you'll be happy to hear!

Interested readers may enjoy the following helpful (and humorous) link . . .
A Guide: How NOT to Get Arrested at the Mall

One of our later errands was a trip to Walmart for some groceries. Despite the fact that we are NOT entertaining anyone or providing any holiday meals for family, we spent over $100! Things were pretty calm there, all things considered.

I was in the beauty aids section, selecting a bottle of Oil of Olay, as I'm nearly out. I had priced it online and Walmart's price was as good as anybody's (barring a sale with discounts at Sam's Club). So I picked up a bottle and put it into my cart. And I heaved a big sigh, I don't know why.

And I turned around, and a lady who worked there was standing at the counter, and she looked at me and smiled. And then we were both smiling, and like two toddlers with arms outstretched, suddenly, we were walking toward each other. It was like our smiles were magnets that brought us to each other. I could have hugged her. She seemed like someone I used to know, but as far as I can figure out, we are strangers.

She had a very nice smile and kind eyes. She reminded me of a lady I used to clean for back in college. For I was on scholarship, and poor as dirt, and I did take on cleaning jobs on the weekends for a little extra cash. There was a lady from Germany that my roommate and a friend of mine had cleaned for, and that I had also cleaned for: Mrs. Weyl. That's who she reminded me of, but without the German accent.

"I know," she said, as though to soothe me; "There's TOO MUCH STUFF here. And you should see all of us, stocking the shelves, putting all that STUFF out." And we observed, as we quietly beamed at each other, that things were pretty quiet right now, but that they'd be crazy town later in the week. Just usual everyday stuff. The words we said didn't matter. It was the smiles that meant everything.

It was hard to walk away from her, in a way that I can't even explain. In the end, it seemed like there was more that I should say, but I couldn't think of the words. So I simply wished her a good week, and good luck in dealing with the crowds and the stress. Smiling still, we took our leave.

I look back on that time, which was probably only a few minutes, and it was like a light in my day. I can't even explain it, but sometimes there are just people you walk up to and you SEE each other and you want to collect this person and keep them with you always. It doesn't always lead to anything, but I think that it was one of those pure moments of GRACE. And I am glad that it happened to me!

My soundtrack song for this festive scene is Miley Cyrus with Mark Ronson, with Happy Xmas (War Is Over), featuring Sean Ono Lennon. The girl slays it. She really does. Wistful Miley just slays, even in a t-shirt and jeans. If I could figure out where to buy this song, I would. But it's on a bunch of albums on Amazon where you can't BUY the individual song. Hmmph. Oh well. Enjoy, anyway!

*And then, my husband saw how happy I was with my purchases, and he offered to buy them for me, as an early birthday present. So this is a TOTAL WIN!!! And so she lived happily ever after, and she smelled really good doing it! The End.