Holiday Season, Week Forty-Eight in the No Longer New Abnormal

Mixed emotions can easily create a holiday weekend potpourri between the pressures of Thanksgiving and the demands of Black Friday. Though expectations run high for a very Happy Thanksgiving and great savings on Black Friday, the truth is less grand and perhaps a bit messy. I had the good fortune of enjoying a small Thanksgiving with a table of four at a local restaurant. I was too tired to cook. Being served was a small pleasure for which I was completely thankful. And sharing a meal with loved ones was a gift in and of itself. That’s not to say that I don’t miss the larger family, but I was happy to do less. Then came Black Friday. My inbox, even before I woke up, was stuffed with advertisements for gifts, necessities, personal items and everything in-between. I was flummoxed. I felt pulled in every direction. Do I take advantage of a daybed sale? Or do I pick up small items for little gifts for those I appreciate and encounter in service jobs? I was easily frazzled. I spent much too much time online digging through the myriad of possibilities. I felt stuck in a capitalistic loop of my own making.