Ah, Thanksgiving morning. The calm before the storm. At 4:30 a.m., the turkey goes in the oven, and for a brief moment, all is right with the world. But as the smell of roasting turkey fills the air, anxiety starts to creep in. It’s not the cooking that causes this unrest; it’s the looming specter of Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching!
Thanksgiving used to be about gratitude and simple pleasures. It was about congregating and eating. Remember those old-fashioned Christmases when a thoughtful gift was a hand-knitted scarf or a wooden toy? My Norwegian Grandma used to knit me mittens that were pointy at the end because she didn’t know how to make them round. She would fill them with Juicy Fruit gum and pennies. It was the most coveted gift of any Christmas and I would do anything to go back to those days! Fast forward to today, and the pressure is on to find the perfect gift for Aunt Gertrude, who, by the way, has developed a sudden interest in the latest smart home gadgets. This concerns me that she is smarter than me and she is 96 years old.
As the Thanksgiving dishes are cleared, the real madness begins. Black Friday has become a full-contact sport, with early-bird shoppers camping outside stores, ready to tackle anyone who stands between them and a 75% off flat-screen TV that nobody in the universe needs another one of! It’s the Hunger Games of shopping, and only the strongest will survive the electronics aisle.
And then, just when you think you did your due diligence to get the best deal ever on Friday, you begin second guessing yourself. Cyber Monday arrives. A day once meant for online deals has turned into a digital free-for-all, where we’re glued to our screens, frantically refreshing for the best deals on gadgets we didn’t even know we needed. The thrill of the hunt is real, as we chase after the latest TikTok sensation that your kids or my nephews simply must have, lest they suffer the ultimate humiliation of being the only ones without it. It’s when I wonder if the 75% off I got on the television that nobody needs was really the best deal out there. I get hungry for leftover turkey as my body aches from sitting in an unhealthy position at my computer desk searching for 80% off somewhere.
As the dust settles and the credit card statements start rolling in, we find ourselves longing for those simpler times. But hey, at least Aunt Gertrude will be thrilled with her new smart toaster, and your kids will have the trendiest gadgets in school. Until next year, fellow shoppers!
Today I’m shopping in real life for the honey ham and dessert I agreed to bring.
I hope I don’t get sidetracked into stopping at one of the stores who is having their Black Friday sales early or I just know I’ll come home with another new television set and only because it was at a price I could not resist.
Before I end, I just want all of the DLJ readers know how very grateful I am that you allow me to ponder things in this space. My husband swears you are saving our marriage by letting me babble here and not always in his ear! One more thing! Don’t forget to watch the Macy’s day parade! At least that has stayed like it was in the olden days!
The Blonde on the Prairie is a lover of ND. She is an author and motivational speaker, owner of “Monkey Balls” food truck and Joyologist to the elderly, the disabled and, now, also to children wherever she is needed during the school year and beyond.
