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Maybe, I am curious about the shopping for Christmas in my new city. My husband and I plan to eat at a local thanksgiving buffet and after that who knows? We talked about black Friday shopping, so we may, I've never really went shopping on black Friday before.
Nope, I'm going to have to agree with dualie on this one. Until it happens to you, (meaning, NO family), you don't understand.
You are right, in that I do still have family... not all nearby, but they exist.
But, according to his/her post, so does he/she ("moved away from family").
Nope, I'm going to have to agree with dualie on this one. Until it happens to you, (meaning, NO family), you don't understand.
I lost someone close before, but I'm kinda in the middle of you and Pitt.
I understand that shopping is one way to occupy yourself. But as long as you are not just shopping for the hell of it. Perhaps you are shopping for things you need/can afford, that'd be fine.
Being amidst people at the store or at the mall can help, maybe chatting with workers or other shoppers, or just taking in the sights and people watching....
Although I can also see how it can be terrible and reminding you of what you lost...there's that.
Ironically, I worked at the mall when I lost that someone, several years ago, and I missed somewhere between 1 to a few days of work before I said I need to get back to work. It just didn't help to be at home, I needed to focus on something else. Be around people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sheena12
Also, I take issue with people being forced to work on holidays. That's just wrong.
Aside from Kmart/wally-mart, Toys R us, target, etc opening earlier and earlier or on Thanksgiving itself, many places around the U.S. have always been open on these holidays and have people working: Grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, hotels and motels, police stations, hospitals,...
Couple of years ago I would have been in the NO category... but now that I have lost my husband, moved away from family, Thanksgiving is just another day of the week. For all that have families that you can spend the day with... that is what you should be doing. And be thankful you can.
But please remember, there are some of us who don't have those families any longer. Going shopping is one way to occupy the mind and forget the pain of being alone.
You know, I am sorry that you no longer have any family to spend the day with, honestly, I am. I am thankful beyond words to have my husband and I still have a sister living but she and her family are back in Ohio and we haven't seen each other in about 3 years. Thanksgiving is just another day of the week, as is Christmas, Easter, etc., BUT there are myriad other things that people that are alone on holidays can do to occupy themselves and perhaps even bring a smile to someone's face who is as lonely as they are themselves, other than to jump in the car and cruise down to the mall or nearest shopping area and spend money and in the process deprive other people from spending that day with their own families. You have to remember that the people who work those crappy hours on those holidays are often low paid, often people who wouldn't be working those jobs if they absolutely didn't have to - and now in addition to black Friday - they will also have to suffer through working on Thanksgiving day itself - with the same crazed shoppers out in droves looking for "bargains". If people didn't insist on stores being open - stores wouldn't do it. Every holiday has become nothing more than a money grubbing opportunity for corporate business to finagle more of your hard earned $ out of your pockets - by calling it a sale, a deal, a door-buster, whatever you want it to be. The bottom line is this - if we could all just stay home, find somebody to smother with our affection and share a day with good friends and good food, with family around if possible that would be the best present ever. You don't have to go shopping on Thanksgiving day just to avoid being alone - what is wrong with the joy of your own company? Read a book, take a walk, watch a good movie, take a nap, make a great meal for YOU - because you are thankful for yourself and the joy that you are - celebrate yourself - not the day. That's what it's all about - not commercialism, not watching the clock all day and wishing for the day to be over (see, I have been in your shoes!) soon so those awful lonely feelings will go away. It is what you make it, good or bad. But please just remember, there are other people out there who will be sacrificing spending the day with their own families just so you can feel better for a couple of hours. Is that really a fair trade-off? Does that really make you forget the pain of being alone?
I hate the trend of stores being open on Thanksgiving. I would rather pay more, or just not buy something than ruin a family tradition.
And I hate the fact that my kids may someday work for one of those stinking retailers and miss a Thanksgiving dinner.
Why does the dinner HAVE to be done on Thanksgiving as opposed to another day? My ex and I had to do that all the time. He was a firefighter/paramedic and I was a waitress. We both had to work ALL the holidays so we might have the dinner on our next day off. We did miss a lot of family doings but we knew, when we signed up for our jobs, how it was going to be. Now I work in retail and, yeah, I'll be working Thanksgiving and Black Friday but I don't have my schedule yet so not sure about hours.
Personally I don't care, for myself, because even though I have brothers, cousins and their families here in town for some reason none of them ever invite me or my mom to their home. Thanksgiving OR Christmas. They don't invite one another either so we don't take it personal but I feel bad for my mom that her own sons don't invite her to their home. We get along great other than that.
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