A couple of weeks ago- before I had found a job and life in Virginia was still feeling new and unsettled-I got up in the morning and declared to my sister, Jennifer, that I needed to go smell Macy's. I know that probably sounds SO weird-ha! But, I was being totally serious. Neither of us had any money to spend, but I just knew that a little trip to walk around Macy's would do our displaced selves a world of good. And, you know, I was totally right!
The smell of the mall will always have a special place in my heart. The Chick-fil-A competing with The Pretzel Shop and the required Candle Shop all mixed together with the scent of new merchandise just makes me happy, and NO place in the mall am I more comforted than in Macy's. There is something about the way the perfume counter's aromas mingle with the new shoes and clothes that speaks to me of a 1,000 childhood memories.
My very earliest memories of walking through Macy's are of annual Christmas shopping trips my sisters and I would take with my mom and her mother, my Grandmother Katherine. Not a Christmas season passed that did not find us walking through the old Northlake Mall in Atlanta, GA. I would walk hand-in-hand with my Grandmother as she would take me and my sisters to see the battery powered toy dogs walking and flipping and barking in the Toy Store, to check out the Santa sitting in the center of the mall's North Pole, to get Chick-fil-A nuggets in the food court, and always to stop by Macy's to pick-up some gift or another for a family member. To my little mind there could be NO place more awesome!
As the years have gone by, and the loss and gain of family members has changed our Christmas traditions, our Christmas Mall trips have remained constant for us girls and my mom. Even when there is not an abundance of money, we can be fully content to just walk around and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the season. In some ways it is a little remainder of my sweet grandmother, and in others it is a way to hold onto tradition in the merry-go-round of homes and people that time and marriage and divorce can bring to the holidays.
This year I am struck by the fact that it will be me and my sister's turn to hold little hands as we introduce Amelia and Penelope to the Christmas shopping experience. We will be the ones taking them by the toy store to check out the computer powered toy dogs walking and flipping and barking in the Toy Store window,to gaze at Santa Clause in his North Pole, to stop by Chick-fil-A for a lemonade and some waffle fries, and to-yes-go smell Macy's. My hope is that in years to come the girls' will also be able to walk into a Macy's and be flooded with a comfort that only the aroma of good memories can produce. And, that-like a good memory-despite the effect time and change may have on their Christmas traditions, the knowledge and joy of the love of their family in this season-no matter how confusing and crazy they may seem- will never fade. And, maybe one day their Aunt Michelle will have more money, and can actually buy them presents instead of just take them to look at where the presents come from-ha! Of course, the memories are more valuable and last longer than the toys!
"Pleasure is the flower that passes; remembrance the lasting perfume."
~Jean de Boufflers
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