Earlier today, after church, Rebecca, Jacob and I ran into our local Dollar Tree and I was amazed, yet not surprised, that they had over 3 aisles of Christmas decorations out. It is only 1 day past Halloween! Granted, Dollar Tree did have an end-cap with Thanksgiving decorations, however it was the end of 1 aisle, NOT the 3 aisles that had been dedicated to Christmas. Then, later I was on facebook and a friend had posted her coffee cup from Starbucks and it was red for the holiday season. Um...isn't fall and harvest colors yellows and oranges and browns? Again, another company looking forward to Christmas and completely bypassing Thanksgiving.
In the past November meant Thanksgiving and not let's start thinking about Christmas, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. However, I feel like everyone around me has become so commercialized and tend to get the "give me, give me, give me" mentality for Christmas and they truly have lost the sense of gratefulness that Thanksgiving and November is supposed to be about.
I can't change everyone's attitude. But I can change my own. I have decided that I want to focus on what I am thankful for during this month, rather than only looking forward to Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I will probably still do some Christmas shopping this month, however, I truly want to place more of my focus on the people, things and experiences that I am grateful for.
So for the month of November, I am going to try to post at least 1 thing each day that I am thankful for. I invite each of you to do the same, either on your own blogs or in the comments section. I hope that it will help me to see that I have a lots of things to be thankful for....
DAY 1:
On this first day of November, I am thankful for my husband. He is my soul mate and my love. He puts up with my many moods. He works very hard to take care of our family. He is quirky and crazy, with a great sense of humor. He has an uncanny knack with numbers and statistics. I believe that God got it right when he put the two of us together. I cannot imagine what my life would have been like the last 11 years, if I did not have Bill by my side. So today, I am extremely grateful for the presence of my husband in my life!
If you are joining in....what are you thankful for?
I am thankful for my dad. He left this world in June, but I am so grateful I was with him and I know the last words we ever said to each other. Some teach us how to truly live, some are examples at the end of their lives and some are both. I was fortunate to have both.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful man. Lovely tribute. Sorry for your loss.
DeleteI am very thankful for both my husband 1a135bd children. Can't image what my life would be without them. I so agree about Christmas and how retailers push each holiday. While in our local grocery store on Thursday they were making room for Christmas items. I told the clerk we hadn't even had Halloween yet, why rush the holidays so fast. Cheryl
ReplyDeleteI think it come down to money and commercialism and how much can we make...I don't know.
DeleteI am thankful for my children and their families, that they live nearby, and that we all like to spend time together.
ReplyDeleteSusan
That is awesome. It is great when a family is close to one another. Many blessings to your family!
DeleteI think there are a lot of people who share your frustration with the rush to Christmas, bypassing right through Thanksgiving. When I changed my attitude toward "stuff" and looked to minimalism as a lifestyle, I found myself unaffected by all the commercialism. I can't remember the last time I was in a shopping mall. I'd much rather spend time with friends or family eating, talking and laughing than receiving a gift that will go in a closet or sit on a shelf. A lot of stores are now staying closed to turkey day as well as Black Friday in response to the large number of peolpe who feel as you do.
ReplyDeleteIt just really hit me yesterday and just set me off. I have been feeling like this for a while, but it just sent me over the edge yesterday. I so agree with all the stores that are closing on Thanksgiving; I say good for them!
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