Rant and a request

I must rant about all the Thanksgiving advertisements. I must.

I used to feel so lucky that Adam didn't have to work on Thanksgiving. We may have had to leave the family gathering early so he could get up at 2 a.m. or something like that to be in at work, but we always celebrated the holiday together. It was the old fashioned way. LOTS of food and then games and conversation well into the evening.

This year, he's working on Thanksgiving so people can get their Christmas shopping done.

First, let me say that the real meaning of Christmas has really been so lost. People only think about what they can get for themselves and for their family rather than giving to people in need. They totally miss that the reason for this season is to celebrate Christ coming as a baby for us and later dying for us on the cross. It frustrates me!

So, in order to buy lots and lots of stuff (that will probably not be appreciated or may be broken two days after Christmas) they shop until they drop on all the days around Thanksgiving. This year, they even get to shop on Thanksgiving day.

So, what about that holiday? I think we've lost the real meaning of it also. What happened to being thankful for the little that we have instead of being so greedy and seeing how much we can get? Believe you me, I see the deals and I'd like some of them, but I refuse to shop on Thanksgiving day. I want to practice what I have been preaching to the kids about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims and about the one Leper who came back to say thank you to Jesus for healing him. I want them to see the importance of really being thankful, not just on Thanksgiving, but on every day of the year. I want them to see the importance of family and spending quality time with them. I want them to know what our traditions are and to appreciate those and perhaps carry those on as they move out of our house.

So that ends my rant and here is my request. Don't shop on Thanksgiving. Send a message to the jerks who want to make people work so others can shop on a day that's supposed to be a national holiday. If you forget the cranberry sauce, just do without. You'll have stories to tell about it for years to come!

Thank you and a very happy Thanksgiving to you all!