Get out your running shoes, Black Friday is here! Wait, that has been a tradition for the day after Thanksgiving because retailers what to end the year in the black and not have those red hot losses on their bottom budget line on December 31st.

This year the retailers may have gotten a little smarter than they have been in the past because so much has been made of starting Black Friday on Thanksgiving Day. Also because who wants to camp out in front of a store waiting to save $20 on anything. How do you leave the warmth of your home and the smell of roast beast to Grinch up and hide in a tent with strangers to fight over a television?

You could have started your holiday shopping in mid-November when many stores offered prices better than Black Friday. Lotions and potions, waffle makers and can openers all on sale while the traffic to get to the stores was still average.

Intoxicated with turkey, cranberries and dressing is no time to pick out a sweater for Aunt Lu or slippers for grandpa. You might end up buying an “ugly” Christmas sweater on purpose. The designers decided that this year going to a thrift store should not be your option, they are selling those horrible excuses for a party sweater right on the shelf this year. They even have them for your dog! At one mall retailer you could buy baubles, bangles and beads to adorn your shopping outfit. Antlers, mittens and socks OH MY!

On Thanksgiving we really need to return to our roots to focus on what we are thankful for. Will the children of today ever know what it was like to sit around the table, hold hands and share what they are thankful for? It was a tradition to have dinner together this one day of the year with all of our favorite things even if some of the dishes were just warm by the time it was all carried to the dining room. You played board games or went outside to burn off some of those calories. You didn’t put up the Christmas tree, go shopping for presents or throw out the pumpkins and pilgrim décor until next week.

For some this year being thankful for the fact that you have enough money to put a nice meal on the table is happiness. That may be a bowl of pasta, but at least everyone is together. Maybe you or a loved one took a medical journey and you are celebrating another year together because things looked so dark months ago.

Around some tables a loved one or special friend will be missing. You might be taking the time to laugh a little at how you spent time together and some of the crazy things you did on Thanksgiving. Who doesn’t have a story of how the turkey didn’t cook on time, the pie wasn’t quite right or the stuffing, well we won’t go there.

Thanksgiving is a time when we can be happy for the hours spent with family or friends. We can say thank you to the first responders who will be working that day. The folks on call just in case winter weather arrives and the streets need cleared. The utility company workers who are around just in case the power goes out or there is a need for service.

We can’t forget the doctors and nurses who will be there to care for the sick or the new babies that will be joining families on Thanksgiving. Many will also be thanking a soldier for their service throughout the world to keep our homeland safe.

If you do elect to go shopping on Thanksgiving Day, take the opportunity to thank the employees at the store who gave up time with their family so that you could shop. They are not getting overtime wages to open the retail doors. They are simply keeping a retail job so that their family can have the funds to support Thanksgiving dinner.

The staff of the New Carlisle News wishes all of our readers a Happy Thanksgiving. May you enjoy the love of good people, a smile on your face and the knowledge that somewhere in the world you are in the thoughts of good friends and family members who can’t be at the table this year.

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