What Time Is It?

According to the clock on the mantle, it is 6:00 in the morning.  This may sound early, but for seasoned Black Friday shoppers who have been out the door at 4:30 in the morning in years past, this is a late start.   I think last year was the year that Shannon and I decided we were too old to make it out the door at 4:30 just to watch the crazy people.   

We usually have a list of things we would like to find, but we don't fight for the items.  There is something about pulling into the store parking lot and not seeing a parking spot in sight, seeing the line of people down the sidewalk waiting to get in the building, walking to the back of the store to find the end of the line, standing in line with my arms loaded because there are no available carts, the lack of feeling in my arms from holding that stuff and the ache when I can finally put my stuff down...that is loads of fun and makes me smile.  Crazy, I know.

This year many of the stores opened at midnight or earlier on Thanksgiving Day so there weren't any over crowded parking lots or lines at our first couple of stops.  As for me, I am not going to spend Thanksgiving Day shopping.  We have so much fun together.  There may come a day when none of my kids are "home" for Thanksgiving, but for now they are and I love the memories we make when we are together as a family and with friends.  I also hate that the retailers have become so greedy their employees not only have to work the day after Thanksgiving, but now on Thanksgiving Day.  Sad.  We talked to one lady who works at one of the stores and she had been there since 11:00 pm on Thanksgiving night.  She was scheduled to work until 11:00 a.m.  Jobs are hard to come by these days, so I'm sure some of the employees are happy to have the hours, but where do we draw the line?

Most days I wouldn't miss the crowds, but on this day I did.

I managed to make a very small dent in my Christmas shopping and as much as I love the thrill of Black Friday, I do not enjoy the rest of the shopping season.