Happy Black Friday

Today was a great day. As I write this, it is evening of the day after Thanksgiving. This day is now known as "Black Friday" in reference to its impact on the bottom line of many retailers. It seems that each store tries to outdo the others with their sales and also how early they open. I know of several people who spent the better part of last night and today in search of bargains.

I, however, did not conduct any business today. Frankly, dealing with the madness at the Black Friday sales sounds dreadful. (This is not meant as a criticism. If that's what you enjoy, then more power to you. Goodness knows that I spend enough time in pursuits that other people would consider boring or ridiculous.)

So what did I do to make this a great day? It starts with what I didn't do - go to work. I have been fortunate to always have a four-day weekend for Thanksgiving. That's what makes today unique - it's a free day off. I spent all day yesterday at a family get-together, and still had another day off before the weekend began!

Our number one priority for today was to set up the Christmas decorations. I am adamant about not having Christmas spread too early, but once Thanksgiving is over, all bets are off. We set up our artificial tree (no desire to get a real one), then everyone helped put on the decorations. It came out beautifully; there's something rather calming about looking at a lit and decorated Christmas tree.

There was also an added bonus to this day. When I was up in the attic to get the boxes, I noticed a couple of boxes in the corner that hadn't been paying much attention to. They were items that we put away when we moved here nine years ago and have basically forgotten. One of the boxes contained some wonderful treasure - it was filled with my baseball cards as well as a bunch of my old school work and class pictures! For a sentimental sap like me, it was a delight to behold.

I've been giving it some thought today, and I have concluded that Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year. It's a quiet day with my family were we can start turning our attention towards Christmas. (And finding treasure in the attic as well!)