Boycott Shopping!

On Thanksgiving at least. And here is why.

Think back to 5, 10 years ago on your Thanksgiving holiday.

I am sure you are recalling memories of tables filled with a load of food. Family you love all around you, shuffling past as everyone tries to fit around the dinner table. For me it was just that.  I was sectioned to the kids table until about 19 but it was ok. We all didn't fit around the adult table. We would have mindless chatter and then shuffle out to the living room as we patiently awaited dessert.

The newswpaper was passed around as the deals for Black Friday were discussed. What time we were going and what we hoped to get that day. The simple time of the holidays. More family and love, less materialistic.

Now I see the Black Friday commercials flooding and it saddens me to see "Open Thanksgiving Day." No longer are people focused on gathering around the table with family. The focus has seemed to shift to what we can buy for our family for Christmas.

It is the one day that no matter what religion we are, we all celebrate. We all have something to sit and be thankful for and enjoy a day of simpleness with friends and family. Consumerism has creeped its way into Thanksgiving and it should be stopped.

So I want to ask everyone to boycott shopping on Thanksgiving. Don't worry about finding the right deal that day. Look around you and be thankful for what you already have. Leave the stress until Black Friday. If people don't shop on Thanksgiving, we can put a stop to the stores being open. (Or am I too grandeur thinking such things;)

If you still feel you need to shop, think about the person helping you. Think about their family and how he/she isn't with them preparing for the big feast or finishing the feast with their dessert. Or better yet think about how you are rushing through the holiday just to get out and go shopping.

The holidays are about being together and just the spirit of it all. Unfortunately, it seems to be slipping away and I'm afraid it will only keep slipping.

Tomorrow I will be working. But early morning (talking 4 am) in a store that is not open on Thanksgiving. I will then go home in the early afternoon and enjoy my Thanksgiving with my family and eat all I can. I will not be making any purchases or spending any money. Please do the same.

-Life shouldn't be printed on dollar bills. ~Clifford Odets