A Different Black Friday

As it has been Black Friday and Cyber weekend/ Cyber Monday (I feel like November is some sort of Cyber month nowadays), I have been reflecting on the difference a year makes. The difference for me personally isn’t anything due to Covid, as I never used to run to the shops on Black Friday weekend.

Working in fast fashion, it was always our biggest weekend, hitting record figures year on year. The lead up with often months of planning, thinking of unique ideas of how to encourage the customer to come to shop on our website. Finding quirky ways to encourage the customer to spend their money with us, rather than a competitor.

My favourite campaign, was a couple of years ago, changing ‘Black Friday’ to Jack Friday. If you shopped with the brand on the week of Black Friday you could win the chance for Jack Fincham, from Love Island, to deliver your parcel. Intercepting orders from the warehouse for Jack to deliver, making it all happen logistically, managing talent yet also capturing great content was a big task. Dealing with screaming fans in the street as we tried to go door to door with deliveries was an amazing feeling, but also extremely stressful.

I thrived off that stuff though. A ‘get shit done’ mentality that I lived for and was known for. Yes, I’d often dread the lead up to the day, because I’m the sort of person that wants to have every base covered just in case. A plan A,B,C & D. But with full head strong backing that I wouldn’t let plan A go sideways anyway.

There was constant anticipation of whether a competitor would kick off their campaigns early, or had a better offer. Often ideas would be thrown out of the window last minute, and we would be back to the drawing board.

I always used to say the best ideas will come to you when you’re least expecting it, quite often when you’re in the shower. Basically to never sit down in a meeting room and ask, ‘THINK, THINK, THINK! What is the big idea?‘ But this event of the year, you would feel yourself thinking about it constantly. In the evening after work for weeks, and in the lead up often in the middle of the night too.

On the day there would be a constant feeling of are we doing enough? Is today going to be a success? Constantly overthinking is this what the customer wants? Yet also a slight feeling of anti climax due to the over hype surrounding the day. Targets constantly being raised as the day progresses, and being asked how can you push it further, what more can we do.

A year on from my last Black Friday. I reflect on where I am.

I wasn’t in an office and I didn’t shop the sales.

The day started after a tough night. Sidney had woken every three hours, and was refusing to go back down to sleep unless he had fed. At breakfast he was presented with his favourite eggy banana bread with cinnamon, yoghurt and fruit. It was a challenge, he was tired from the night before so needed a lot of encouragement. I found myself running in and out of the kitchen trying to present new things for him to eat just hoping he would have had enough.

Is it his teeth? Is it tiredness? Is he hungry? Has he done a poo? the constant questions throughout the day a parent asks. What is it he wants, and what will make him happy?

After his breakfast I put him down for a nap (plan A). I knew he was tired, all the signs were there for him but he was having none of it. I saw it wasn’t raining and thought this was a quick opportunity to get him into his pram suit and into the pram (plan B). Hopefully he would sleep if I walked around with him, and the fresh air would do both of us good.

I wish it was as simple as picking him up out of his cot and popping him in his pram and out of the door we go. I’ve learned to have his changing bag packed and ready at the door as seizing a different plan from a cot nap is such a short window of opportunity. I also have his baby carrier in the bottom of the pram if he full on refuses to go in the pram (plan C).

We set off on our walk into town, Sidney happily in the pram snoozing on the way. I stopped for a takeaway coffee, walked around the park and walked home. He slept a little, he was awake for most of it. A few outbursts and kick offs on the way home, whilst I offered him every toy in his changing bag, for him to settle on a shaker and his dummy. All in all, fairly normal and OK, moments of stress paired with moments of elation.

As I reflect and compare the differences of this year to the last, I realise there isn’t that many differences at all.

Black Friday this year I was still thinking the night before of what the next day would bring. I was required to be agile to a sudden change in plan or situation. Obligated to think on my feet. Having plans and adjusting them as things progressed through the day. Constantly thinking how to make ‘my customer’, Sidney, happy. The difference this year is just the subject matter.

The day I used to anticipate each year, I’m dealing with in a different way every day. Dealing with ever changing situations isn’t a big yearly event now, it is every day now. That’s what being a Mummy is. My new role.

I said I would be completely honest in my writing, and on that note it is important to say that I’ve struggled recently, questioning how well I am performing. I remarked to my husband I thought I should go back to work sooner as I felt I was better at my job, than being a Mummy. I’ve felt so conflicted. I have always had a burning desire to be successful and thought this was only possible in a professional capacity.

My view of success is different now. Yes I’m not hitting million pound targets, but I have to stop and be a little less hard on myself. I’m hitting my target of being the best Mummy I think I can be to Sidney. The hardest, yet most rewarding job I’ve ever done.

At the end of each day, as I lay him down in his cot, I re-cap with him the day we’ve had, the adventures we shared. I smile as I recall the fun we have had, and tell him how cheeky he is for the skipped naps, the refusing to feed moments, and conclude “all in all another great day Siddy Boo”. I then whisper to him, “See you in the morning!” knowing it won’t be, it will be in a few hours when he stirs in his cot, and a few hours later in the middle of the night for a feed. But setting the right intentions for when that might actually happen, when he does sleep through the night.

With every campaign at work it was always important to reflect on the success, and so as I’m comparing this year to the last. Was Black Friday a success this year? Of course it was. And did I meet my targets? Black Friday this year was the first night Sidney has slept through since being born. A fluke most probably, as I’m finding a lot of this Mummy stuff is. But funny to me that of all days for it to happen for the very first time it was on this day. So I guess I can call that a successful Black Friday.