With two people in our household who work in retail, this is what our Thanksgiving Day was like. We ate dinner as early as possible so that they could have a meal before they headed off for their 12-hour shifts beginning at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. We did not sit at the kitchen table lingering over coffee and dessert. We did not play board games with our youngest grandchild, as we usually do. They faced a Friday totally exhausted and mentally burned out from dealing with the insanity of holiday shoppers. People seem to lose all sense when they are shopping for what they perceive as a bargain. They become aggressive and vicious. The screaming, swearing and name calling is unbelievable when you consider that they are supposed to be shopping for a holy holiday.

Every year it gets worse and worse.

Every year stores begin their sales earlier and earlier.

I suspect in a few years, there will be no Thanksgiving in our house at all because eventually stores will start their sales even earlier on Thanksgiving Day to beat out the other stores in the area. Thanksgiving Day will just be another shopping day. Happy Holidays? I don't think so.