Thankful

So there's Christmas music playing in stores and the retail halls are all already decked. The Great Tree in Atlanta is now lit. I complain about this every year. I often get called a Scrooge and a humbug because I hate pre-Thanksgiving Christmas.

But I'm not a humbug. I love Christmas. I always have. And it's not that I'm that hung up on eating Thanksgiving dinner, although I can already taste the pecan pie.

What bothers me is that this is all about profit. We, as Americans, aren't thankful anymore. We bypass the one holiday we set aside to be thankful for what we have to hurry toward a holiday now set aside for unbridled consumerism. We now have a two month holiday to celebrate more, more, more, more.

And how much is enough? More? How much will be enough then?

I'm not a minimalist myself and I'm not saying anyone else should be. I'm saying we need to stop, look around, take a true inventory of what's around us (probably more who than what), and be grateful.

You don't have to dress up like Pilgrims or Wampanoags from the First Thanksgiving. But be thankful.

I'll be back to discuss Christmas once that season arrives. And I'll be thankful for the chance to do so.