About Me

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Born and raised in Southern Indiana, this Hoosier transplanted herself to the Windy City after graduate school. Her passion is teaching, with writing come a close second and gaining momentum. She currently teaches College of DuPage as an adjunct professor in the physical education department and runs a martial arts studio in Naperville, IL. She holds the rank of 3rd Dan in the United States Hapkido Federation.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Don't Give In! Resist the Urge!

Originally published on my Facebook profile:

Please, please don't go shopping on Thanksgiving. If we stopped going out to shop, the stores wouldn't be open and the employees can be at home with their familes (or at least enjoying a day off). We need to wean ourselves from our addiction to cheap Chinese goods and the notion that if we don't get it RIGHT AWAY, we won't get a good deal. Patience is your friend. You can find excellent deals closer to Christmas; sometimes even better than the ones you find on Thanksgiving/Black Friday.

And remember, the retailers are putting out ads for TVs and electronics as SUPER DUPER LOW PRICES, but please, they have MAYBE 10 in stock. But of course, you can get this comparable TV at a discount too (never, ever close to the 'discount' advertized for those 10 TVs that were taken in the first minute). DON'T FALL FOR IT! STAY HOME, PIG OUT, WATCH TV, NAP ON THE COUCH.

After some huge losses some friends of mine have suffered the past few weeks, I wanted to remind people of something:

Thanksgiving is a time to be with family. It's a time to pig out, watch football (or whatever is your traditional movie) and be together, even if all you do is watch the damn DVD.

Think about this: none of us knows how long we have on this earth. This may and probably will be the last Thanksgiving for some of us or will be the last Thanksgiving for a loved one. Do you really want your last Thanksgiving to be at the mall? Do you really want the last memory of your loved one, that you only see once, maybe twice a year, to be of them waving at the door as you back the car out of the driveway and head out to shop?

How about the employee at the store? What if they have loved ones at home that they know they won't see again after this day? Maybe they know this is their last Thanksgiving due to illness and yet, to keep that precious health insurance, they are forced to work rather than be at home with family one ... last ... time. (Let that sink in - some illnesses don't present themselves to the outward appearance. That sales clerk at the checkout stand may only have a few weeks to live and yet here you are, shopping, telling Corporate America they'd better have stores open or else.)

Are you really that selfish, greedy, apathetic? If you are, I feel very sorry for you.
I heard that Maine has blue laws that forbid stores from being open on certain holidays, Thanksgiving included. I wish the remaining 49 would do that. This is one blue law I could get behind. NO ONE should have to sacrifice time with family because they need a job.

If you still feel the need to go shopping on Thanksgiving, do me a favor and unfriend me. I don't want you around and I really don't want to know you.


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