Black Friday Traditions

A few weeks ago, I happened upon a Facebook post from a family friend espousing her disappointment that stores are opening on Thanksgiving evening again this year. She went on to say people who shop then are losing out on being with their families and how they are materialistic above all else. I dismissed it and did not comment or “Like” the post, but now that the big Turkey Day event is upon us in only a few days, her words keep echoing around in my already overloaded head.

Here is why I choose to shop on Thanksgiving evening and Black Friday. Years ago, I was really struggling to make it on my meager salary and being a single mother with two kids who had lists of electronics and clothing and gadgets dancing in their heads, I was determined to get a couple of deals. So, yes, I stood in lines and waited my turn and scooped up some bargains. But I didn’t stand in the lines alone. No, with my son being in the care of my best friend’s husband, she, along with my teen age daughter joyfully spent those hours TOGETHER. At that time, it was a matter of getting up and out before the crack of dawn. Now, we head out in the black of night.

We strategically plan the entire trip, including snacks and meal breaks. We laugh and share jokes and take all the time we want. It is a bonding experience like no other. And it doesn’t matter that we don’t have a lot of money to spend, that it may be minus degree temps, snowing, raining, unseasonably warm, that we gained weight or lost weight or lost a job, changed jobs, struggled through an illness. It just doesn’t matter. We are together. We are united in our efforts to keep in touch.

We have weathered the storms of life together and shared so many laughs. And it is absolutely a joy that my daughter joined our ranks and is part of this tradition. If not for her, the shopping trip would not be so enjoyable because she is the one who maps it and puts it all together, and I love her for that. I love that my best friend and her husband have come every year for at least 20 years every Thanksgiving. These are two people for whom I am thankful. And the feeling of thankfulness continues every single day thereafter.

Wouldn't it be a nice touch if our Leasing Offices opened up in those wee hours of the morning with a coffee and donut breakfast on-th-go on that most important day of sharing with a new Black Friday tradition?