Black Friday scares me.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy shopping — I do. I need to be looking for something specific, though. Window shopping is boring. Shopping when I have no money is boring. Shopping in super expensive stores where I couldn’t afford to buy a pair of socks is depressing. But shopping for a new outfit, a gift for a relative, or even just some new curtains – I like  that.

BUT – and here’s where I reveal a little (more) of my “crazy” – I HATE crowds. Hate them. My personal space bubble is huge. I do not purposefully go places where I know that bubble will be infringed upon. If an elevator has more than five or six people in it, I wait for the next one. When I go to the movies, I prefer to have either my husband or an empty seat next to me. But not a stranger. On airplanes, I fold myself in half – the whole flight- just to avoid bumping elbows with fellow passengers.

I rarely attend concerts. Not that I don’t like music. I love music. But the crowds at concerts get rowdy. They don’t appreciate my bubble. Ditto for sporting events. Except that I don’t love sports, so no great loss there. Theater goers stay in their seats, so I can go there. As long as I don’t touch elbows with the person next to me.

But Black Friday?? Huge crowds of people who are known to have NO respect for personal space bubbles? No way. Uh-uh. I don’t need anything that badly. My blood pressure is raised just thinking about it.

How about you? Am I alone in this phobia? Do tell!