Show Some Respect for the Turkey
Stop skipping ahead and enjoy the present!
It’s November! Time for the stores to stock the shelves with New Year’s Eve decorations.
What? It’s not even Thanksgiving!
Exactly! We are hours past one holiday and skipping too far ahead. Stores are running out of Christmas decorations already. The madness is real and quite sad.
I worked in retail for many a few years, many years back. I was hired mid-July and during the interview, he stated they would be getting ready for Halloween soon and needed the extra help for the holidays. By the time September rolled around, the shelves were stocked and ready for Christmas. That year I called my best friend in a panic saying, “I can’t believe it’s the 6th, I forgot your birthday yesterday,” only to be reassured it was only September and her birthday is in October.
I was so ahead in the year, I didn’t even know what month it was.
It struck a chord this year because my mother-in-law went all out for Halloween. Witches in the corners, decorations everywhere in the home, and even a scary skeleton in a car that moved. Four days before Halloween day, she put up her Christmas tree with no Halloween in sight.
My husband asked why it bothered me so much and at the moment I couldn’t articulate my words. Now, I can honestly say — I hate, as a society, we rush seasons and don’t enjoy the moment we are in. We look forward to the next month ahead rather than the very thing we longed for a month or so back.
Personally, my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. It’s an opportunity for families to gather, eat, and be grateful for what they have. However, over the years it seems the Christmas trees are up and decorated as families eat their turkey. Each holiday is overshadowed by the next one to come.
This made me think of a video on TikTok I saw where he explained overhearing a mother and daughter talking on a train. The little girl said to her mom that she couldn’t wait to get to their destination and the mother said she must enjoy the journey because sometimes it’s the best part of the trip.
Society has grown accustomed to anticipating the next big thing and getting ahead of others. Once one store puts out certain decorations, the next store has to one-up them the following year by putting their items out even earlier.
Takeaway
I don’t have any grand takeaway other than pleading to give each holiday the love, care, and respect it deserves. Enjoy each moment while you’re IN the moment. Looking ahead only takes away from the present.
