OP-ED THANKSGIVING OUR COUNTRIES ORPHAN HOLIDAY

WHEN THANKSGIVING WAS ABOUT FAMILY AND GIVING THANKS.

Just like the good old days

Good morning everyone. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving with minimum family drama. Did you shop on Black Friday? I didn't.

Even if I weren't on the road coming home that morning, I wouldn't go near a store that is brick and mortar.

yup. I want to get up at 12AM so I can shop.

When my mom was still alive and living in Connecticut, I used to go up to spend Thanksgiving with Mom and her two sisters. I'm guessing that was 25 to 30 years ago. I won't say that those were wonderful times, because I had a tough relationship with my mom, but still, it was family. And by then, I already had so little left. So, yeah. I miss it. No one is more surprised than me.

 A Picture of my mom when she was still young

But, as usual, I'm getting sidetracked.

I would get up at 7 am and drive the 20 minutes to the mall. It's so long ago that I can't even remember the name of it. It was built during the time my mom and aunts lived there and it was new and filled with sunlight and lots and lots of stores. Good stores as I recall.

At that hour, I would be one of the first shoppers as they were just opening up. Ah, the good old days when they opened early. At 8 am. Not the kind of "early" we have now. 12 a.m. is not early. It's crazy.

The parking lot was nearly empty. I would go in and wander in and out of the shops. I usually had quite a few shopping bags by the time I left, which was maybe two hours later. When there aren't lines and you walk fast, you'd be amazed at what you can accomplish.

The cars would be filling the lots as I was leaving. I was so glad to be on my way. I'm not a very patient person. If you've been reading my blog you'll know that.

honestly, I get woozy looking at this

I suppose that, when you do this marathon shopping with friends and family it becomes an outing or an experience. That must be why people do it. I love bargains but my time and sanity isn't worth those few extra bucks. Again, I'm not like most people.



What is really sad to me, is that Thanksgiving has become an "orphan" holiday. My friend and I go out for lunch and shopping once a week. We watch as the seasons pass and the displays come and go.

yeah, but it's autumn stuff. not Thanksgiving.

There is a very brief window of items for autumn. That may be the only time you might find a Pilgrim Platter or a decoration for Thanksgiving. Oh, wait. Halloween comes first so that window of opportunity is about 4 hours before all the scary and commercial items come out. And boom. Before its Thanksgiving, Christmas is on display.


I have so much to be thankful for. I'm thankful that I live in a country that made it a holiday for us to celebrate. I am thankful that it was on a Thursday which made it possible for many companies and agencies and banks to give us a four day week end.

What began as a history lesson has morphed into a weekend of face stuffing, shopping and football.


I am thankful that I can choose the way I want to celebrate. I hope you chose the one that works for you.

Happy Holiday.