thanksgiving meets "the blob"

It was only a matter of time before the ooze of black Friday would creep under the door to Thanksgiving like The Blob. 

Does that mean we should throw up our hands and flee the theater in a frenzied mob? As consumers, we have great power to shape the world by closing our wallets. 

I had hopeful visions of echoing store aisles, yawning employees, and disappointed store managers sitting around on Thursday evening, surprised to discover that Americans have their priorities straight after all.

Instead, frantic shoppers vied for the last waffle iron with flecks of mashed potatoes still clinging to their snarling lips.

Egad. 

But let's not dwell on it.  This craziness stems from the actions of a few. 

Most of us refrained.  Didn't we?

For us, Thanksgiving officially started when two vegetarians (me included) slunk to the basement under cover of darkness to shamefully submerge a cold and fleshy bird into a bucket of icy brine.  What can I say except that we love the carnivores among us.  Thanksgiving, like most else around our house, is about food. 

We didn’t shop for each other; we cooked for each other. 

We stood in the buffet line, not the checkout line.

 We wielded the pepper grinder, not the pepper spray. 

We traded playing cards, not sales coupons.

We cleaned up in the kitchen, not in electronics. 

We lamented our full bellies, not our empty wallets.

And the only thing close to a brawl occurred on the basketball court where three generations of men: my father, husband, son and nephew scrambled desperately for possession of one ball.  No riot gear necessary. 

When it was all over, Steve and I curled up under a blanket with both kids to watch a movie for free.  My teen and my tween in one place with no arguing?--the bargain of the century, right there in our own living room.