My feet ached, but it was well worth it. Standing in line in the freezing cold, clutching my ticket with the number 134 on it, I think I had a pretty good chance this time. The one hundred and thirty-three people in front of me were all bundled up too, scarves wound around their faces against the blowing wind, hats pulled down low on their faces. We all had sneakers on, waiting for the doors to open so that we could stampede into the store and wrestle with each other for the units the store had stocked. I looked at my watch, 5 minutes until midnight. I rubbed my hands to try and get warm.

The door opened, the security guard came out, and read us the riot act.
"No pushing, no shoving. You will all file orderly into the store. Please respect each other. We do not want any injuries like last year." Then he unhooked the rope blocking out entrance and we were off.

This is the price we paid to be parents in the month of December.