Non-black Friday

My anti- shopping day of thanks

Gratefulness-Challenge Day 6 of 21 by KnowledgeCollective

I don’t shop much anymore. When I do it’s a social activity with my Sister or a good friend. I’m just not a shopper, much in the way I’m not much of a cook. I CAN do it, but it’s just not my thing. The whole non-shopping thing likely stems from the fact that my Dad was in retail, working at the big Gimbels Department Store. He worked long hours most of the year but at Christmas time we didn’t see a lot of him. Black Friday back in those days was the ACTUAL DAY after Thanksgiving, not a marketing season. It marked the start of his crazy time at work, so it wasn’t anything to celebrate, you know?

So, apart from not going shopping, what makes me grateful today?

1. My Computer Savvy - it means a lot that I can do things online and on the computer in a fairly facile and informed way. That is not at all my husband’s wheelhouse and it never will be. When he says “I need your help with this” it’s more that just lending my aid, it’s something we accomplish together , and that feels so good.

2. Cream of Wheat - do you ever go into your pantry and find something you forgot you had and loved to eat? That happened to me today looking for some breakfast. I love hot cereal and this was delicious and satisfying. Comfort Food for me is about smell and texture as much as flavor. Yum, that cereal made my morning.

3. Afternoon Light - The sun has gone down, and the bare trees are silhouetted against what my long ago roommate Molly taught me is a “Maxfield Parrish Sky.” It’s no longer light, but not yet dark and the quality of this particular light makes me so happy. Stark branches against a velvet blue.

4. Petrichor - I didn’t have the pleasure of this today, but whenever I’m asked what my favorite smells are I think of petrichor first. It’s that wonderful smell when the rain has just begun and the atmosphere becomes charged in the change. I spent many years as a sign language interpreter, and quite a few in Deaf Ministry. I remember one Sunday afternoon during worship in our stone church building when I heard a change in the sound outside the windows. I was signing what the Pastor was preaching, and the sound of cars driving by changed as the road became wet. “Oh, It’s raining” I noted to myself. A few moments later the Deaf congregation began turning to each other commenting “Oh, it’s raining.” Petrichor had made its way in the open windows, and what I had heard they could now smell. That is one of my cherished memories with Deaf friends and how our perceptions are simultaneously the same and different.

   

5. Photos of Family - yesterday my family got together for Thanksgiving. It was the first time Mom had been out for a long drive and visit in a long while, and she had a fabulous time. I took along a flexible stand for my iPhone and made sure we got some really special photos. Treasures.

Heading into the weekend and pretty soon out of November and skidding into the end of 2023, I hope you are finding things that resonate with you from the year that’s so quickly going past.