I had an experience On Easter that reminded me how spoiled we are in to be able to get almost anything, almost any time we want it.

It was probably mid-week last week on the drive home from picking her up at school when Jennifer Lynn asked me if we could make a trip to Michael’s to buy face paint for a video project for her Spanish class. I was probably barely paying attention; I’m sure I was much more consumed with thinking about whether or not I could scrounge something out of the freezer – hmm, Costco potstickers and pizza, that will work – thereby avoiding going to the grocery store for one more night.

“Sure, we’ll go there sometime over the weekend,” I said and then didn’t give it another moment’s thought.

Even though we passed by Michael’s six more times before the week was over, I was always focused on the next item on my agenda and Jennifer Lynn’s request for face paint was’t on it.

I think she mentioned it again on Friday, and I brushed it off with “we’re all going into the city on Saturday so we’ll get it on Sunday.”

Somewhere between home and church on Easter I remembered that she needed it for first period Monday morning. No problem, we can get it this afternoon. Michael’s is open on Thanksgiving; they are certain to be open on Easter. And if not Michaels, there’s always Target which is open way past my bedtime on any given night.

Amazingly enough, Target, Trader Joes, Costco, and Michaels are closed on Easter. It was shocking to see Rohnert Park, which is after all – all shopping centers – looking like a ghost town. Easter and Christmas are the only days that those stores are closed.

You mean there are two days out of the year that I can’t have instant gratification? I can’t buy face paint at the exact moment that is convenient for me? I had to abide by someone else’s schedule? How dare they!

Yes, I was bummed that Michaels was closed but we found an alternative for face paint at CVS that worked just fine – non-toxic, washable Crayola paints.

Am I glad that there are some stores that find a day worthy of being closed? Yes. How would I feel if CVS and Safeway also chose to close on Christmas and Easter and so I wouldn’t have been able to buy the paint?

I would feel a little inconvenienced and I would have to plan ahead better but somehow the generation before us managed without stores being open 24/7.  I think I could too.

(Visited 7 times, 1 visits today)