how about NOT giving in to consumerism this year?

 

It's November...that time when thoughts turn to holidays: turkey dinners, gift shopping and everything else related to the holidays ahead. Here in the Twin Cities, more and more stores are opening on Thanksgiving Day. To me, this is--or should be-- a holiday reserved for families. A time to give thanks, show gratitude and reconnect with friends and family. It is not the time to jam the stores with impatient, ungrateful folks who are looking for that "can't do without" bargain. For these stores to be open, people are required to step away from their families, the meals, the stories of shared gratitude in order to cater to a public that seems ungrateful at best and downright obtuse at worse.

Do you really need to shop on this day? Do you really need to battle for a parking spot, battle for that item that you just have to have, battle with others for space, for a shorter line...you see where I am going with this, right?

How about we return to the days of simple living... Of being present in the moment and watching the kids make a wish with the turkey wishbone, of putting a family movie in the DVD player and settling back in warmth and comfort? How about talking about those stories of when grandma did this and uncle Harry did that...how about maybe visiting someone in a nursing home...whether or not you are related to them, because they would appreciate it that someone cares? How about taking several Christmas cards, handing them out to your family and saying, "let's fill these out and send them to the troops overseas who are keeping us safe today?" How about NOT catering to the consumerism that is what we now are being accustomed to as "normal living" and just...BE?

How about it?