Trailer Wife

DAY NINE: Being in the Mall

Seems crazy, I know. And it's not something I love to do if I actually have to get stuff accomplished. But to stroll through the mall at Christmas time makes me a little giddy. The blaring music, perpetual smell of cinnamon rolls, milling crowds of people (mostly) in a good mood. I think a kind of group hysteria overcomes these kinds of crowds, or maybe hypnosis is a better term. When the feel of cashmere or a whiff of designer perfume can send you straight into euphoric spending fits.

Needless to say, there are no malls in Fairbanks. The closest I get is strolling through Fred Meyers every afternoon. While sipping a Starbucks and analyzing shelves full of soup or some such, I pretend I am at Washington Square, meandering through Nordstrom, shopping for boots. Sometimes it works.