Black Friday

Apparently most people shop today. Bah!

That's what the corporations want us to do. And since there are far too many sheep parading as humans, loads of people spend their day traversing shopping shelves in search of those great “door-buster” deals that corporations spend such time and coin hammering at us during this holiday. There are even some—dare I say some who are either among or related to the readers of this blog—who even, *gasp*, campout to get some righteous Black Friday Deal.

It has become a feature of pop culture to go shopping on Black Friday. To me, it has become a ridiculous feature of a ridiculous tradition, that I love to ridicule.

But this post isn't about the misdirected monies and efforts of masses. Believe me, I could arm-chair quarterback that game all day long! No, this post is about what you do when the day after Thanksgiving isn't Black Friday.

I spent the day with family who I don't see very often.

My Dad and I spent the day swapping stories about my mission and his. Mom and I talked about extended family. This included a list of who's divorcing who, who's in prison now, for what, who's on trial, and who just got out of re-hab. Ah, the thing's that pass me by because I'm in Utah!

My girls spent a leisurely day gliding between movies, computer games, board games, playing with the dogs, playing with the cousins, and grazing on Thanksgiving leftovers.

We played music, some danced. Some cried, and everybody laughed. We talked about the great challenges our society faces, and we talked about the simple solutions that keep challenges at bay—or at least in check.

There was a loose plan to go shooting today, but we just didn't get to it between all the activities. Mostly I spent the day catching up on everything that's been blowing through the family tree; and being constantly amazed one the one hand of the excellent caliber of some of my relatives, and on the other hand of the depravity of character of some of my relatives.

In all, I enjoyed the slow pace of the day. It allowed me to really slow down and match the rhythm of my life to the rhythm of my family. It's an enjoyable exercise that should be undertaken regularly, and I dare say it should be more often.

Of course, Maleen was involved in most of this. She missed a bit though, because she took a short nap this afternoon on account of the early hour at which she rose...to go shopping with her sisters-in-law.

I'd better keep my rant to a minimum.