Townwides

It's spring!  It's garage sale season!  And it's time for the townwides!

I had never heard of this until moving here to the Midwest.  "Townwide garage sales" refers to the day (or two days) when a specific town declares that it is garage sale weekend.  It makes sense when the geography is dotted with small towns every 5 miles.  If you are going to drive one or two towns away (5 miles or 10 miles) to a garage sale, it pays to go to dozens of garage sales in that location.

For the past four weekends, my calendar has listed townwide sales each weekend (four different towns; one per weekend).

We started the season with townwides in a town with a population of 2300.  There were 77 sales listed.  (That town is by far the largest townwide I go to.)  The lists (and maps) go quickly!  Usually the local bank prints them as a courtesy, and they are available for free at the local gas station or village office.  The printed list (with brief descriptions) is helpful so you don't stop at a sale with all boys' clothing if you only have girls or all junior-sized clothing if you only have babies.

You can imagine the traffic jams that happen in an area less than one square mile, when you have cars coming from surrounding towns.  Shopping at the townwides reuqires patience ... and lots of walking, as you park your car and then walk to as many sales as you can from that point.

This year, Little Guy and I made it a group effort, taking an aunt or two &/or cousin and even a cousin's friend along with us.  As we got back into the car each time, LG could be heard saying, "Another garage sale!"  At this point, he sees them as opportunities to play with toys in other people's garages. He doesn't yet realize that sometimes I buy toys that come home with us. :)

This year, probably because we went with others, and probably because I have a toddler (not a baby in a carrier), and probably because I know more people, I realized what a prime visiting time it is!  One lady mentioned that her husband is in Gideons with my husband.  One man told us the story of how he got his name, and about the measles epidemic raging at the time of his birth.  Several people made connections with someone in their family who went to school with one of my in-laws.

In other words, I visited more during the townwides than I have the rest of the year!

I met the grandparents of a little girl who shares a lot of Little Guy's history and who is a success story for Early Intervention.  We ran into a lady who gave LG a baby gift but hadn't seen him since last year's townwides.

I caught up on the post-surgical progress of two of my neighbors and met one's daughter-in-law at a sale at her home in another town.  One elderly neighbor took LG's hand and walked with him around her garage while I shopped. 

The Kiwanis Club's sale was our next-to-the-last sale of the morning one Saturday, and LG had reached his limit.  Through Monday night meals at a local church, through BSF, and through a drapery business in town, I've gotten to know several of the Kiwanis members.  They have delighted in watching LG grow and develop, and jumped in to help him enjoy the sale.  After asking my permission, they gave him a bag of chips and a seat in one of their folding chairs, where he contentedly munched while I shopped.

Stay tuned next week for my deals. :)