The Card Family

I don't want to be a card family.  You know, the kind of family that only communicates through holiday cards.  I understand that this is a big world and even a big country so it can be difficult to stay in touch with family.  But, that doesn't mean I have to like it!

I just found out that my Great Aunt Nancy passed away last month.  LAST MONTH!  How did I find out?  My mom sent a Thanksgiving card to her (her Aunt) and one of Aunt Nancy's kids (my mom's cousin) wrote her back informing her that Aunt Nancy had passed away in October due to illness.  I know that I don't have super close relationships with all of my neices & nephews, but I hope that we don't just become card relatives some day.

The dad that I grew up with became a card relative.  He was the only dad I knew from the time I was 2 or 3.  First, he and my mom divorced when I was 13 and he made a new family.  Then, when I moved away, we only spoke on the phone when I called and would exchange Christmas cards.  Then, one year, I sent a card, but didn't get one from them.  So, the next year, I just didn't bother sending one and of course, since I stopped calling, there are no phone calls either.  I used to call his daughter, my sister, every year on her birthday.  Sometimes, I would have to leave a message, but get no return call.  So, I stopped calling her too.  A card family is just the next step in having no family.

Friends are supposed to come and go and family is supposed to be forever.  So, I think after this incident, I will make a better effort to keep my family from becoming a card family.  As it is now, we mostly only see local family at special events and holidays.  I don't like this at all.  I have expressed these feelings and we always say we will fix it.  But, somehow, it doesn't get fixed.  I guess as long as we keep wanting to try, that is better than giving up completely.

Black Friday has Come & Gone

Black Friday has come & gone.  I am kinda sad to see it go.  I know that Black Friday has gotten a bad rap over the years because of the way some people behave in order to get a set of tupperware for $6.  But, for me Black Friday is an experience I get to share with my sisters & mom every year.  It is something we actually look forward to.  Plus, when I add up my savings, I usually end up saving hundreds of dollars.

Everyone knows that I must have my list of what they want/need for Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving.  I don't like not being prepared for anything. lol  When I get to come into town the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, that's when the real planning & strategy start.  We go through the ads, we clip out the things we want and staple them together by store.  Of course we write the name of the store and the time it opens on the 1st ad so we have that info handy.

Then, we enjoy the rest of the evening with the family and prepare for Thanksgiving Day.  Thanksgiving comes and we enjoy a nice early dinner and get ourselves all stuffed with carbs to be able to handle the event ahead of us.

Unfortunately, the stores are opening earlier and earlier so, instead of getting up super early on Friday morning, we now head out around 2 or 3 on Thanksgiving Day.  But, that is a blog for another day.  So, we figure out which store we will start at and where everyone will take their positions in line.  Usually this is Wal-mart or Toys R Us.  So, we split up and stand around the store in the different lines to get the things we want the most.  We'll catch up on our cell phones and leave our lines to go stand with each other for a little bit waiting for the madness to ensue.

But, since we have a plan it usually isn't madness for us.  The workers open the pallets, we get what we want in the quantity we need for everyone and head back to each other to find out if everyone got what they needed.  Then, we checkout and figure out where we are headed next.  The afternoon turns into night going from store to store.  Stopping only around 10am or so on Friday morning to get some breakfast.  Then, we are back out again.  We usually make it home by early afternoon.  Then, it's time for everyone to take a nap.  Later that night we go through the receipts and figure out who owes who for the things we picked up for each other. Then, it's more family time.

Black Friday is like anything else.  It is what you make of it.  We turn it into a good experience and an event we look forward to.  In addition to our shopping adventure, we get a bonus of having most of our Christmas shopping done in one day.  So, we can relax and truly enjoy the days leading up to Christmas.