POST-THANKSGIVING PONDERINGS

              "I miss the good old days when Black Friday was actually on Friday."
                                                                               ~Unknown

As I shared before, I do not do Black Friday. I will admit a couple times I did Black Friday, but not because I really wanted to go. Fifteen years ago, my daughter "needed" a particular gift. It had been a rough year for her, so we decided we'd do this. We got up before dawn, fought the crowds, bought it, and headed right back home. "Never again," I said. The real kicker came a couple weeks later when I saw the same item in the same store at the same price it was on Black Friday! Are you kidding me?

A few years before that, I was hanging out with friends on Black Friday. After dining out, somebody said, "Let's go shopping." What could I do? Fortunately, it was evening, and the eager morning shoppers were either gone or mellowed.

Admittedly I have enjoyed listening to amusing tales of a couple sisters, Beth and Laura, who have made a tradition to get started early on Black Friday. They love it, and share entertaining details of their retail conquests.

But this year I noticed as early as 2 p.m. on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, some retailers were open to start Black Friday sales. Really? And it seemed by the advertising I heard or read that Black Friday lasted through the whole weekend. Also, my jammed and overloaded email box had tons of notices extending Black Friday deals beyond the weekend into Cyber Monday. But of course, Cyber Monday has now morphed into...Cyber Week! Again, really?

What's next? Perhaps "Black November" and "Cyber December." Heaven forbid!

But back to Thanksgiving Day when the shopping frenzy seemed to begin. I couldn't help thinking about retail employees who worked rather than spend time with family and friends. Did they mind missing their traditional gatherings? I wondered if retail employers asked for volunteers. Or if employees were told, "You're working on Thanksgiving!" And do the employees who work on Thanksgiving get holiday pay, or overtime, or a bonus? Or is it just another day's work in their paychecks?

By contrast I read of a retail company who closed on Thanksgiving, and gave their employees Black Friday off, with pay. Bravo! I'm guessing the company has many happy campers.

The opinions in this post are strictly my own. Thanks for reading my thoughts. But I do wonder if anybody shares my sentiments.

P.S. By the way, I completed "The Gratitude Challenge" in November. (See 11/6/17 post) There were a couple times I got behind and had to catch up. But I am grateful for that 30 day journey intentionally focused on attitudes of gratitude.