Black Friday Shopping

Black Friday Shopping

The videos from the Black Friday shopping insanity are already coming in and posted for the world to see. Those images contrast sharply with the traditional ideals of the season. If you’re like me, seeing the madness makes you even more thankful to those who fundamentally shaped your world view. My 83 year old grandmother comes to mind. Fiercely independent and bold, I finally got her to move closer to where I live. Now that I get to check in on her multiple times per week we’re having conversations we never had.

I want to make sure that her legacy lives on, much like those Black Friday videos will.

The family has decided we will spend this holiday sorting through the pictures that have accumulated in her lifetime. The pictures will be scanned. We are also going to start recording the memories attached to those pictures. It’s a monumental task, but a great one none the less.

If you don’t have an elder family member close by, you can still show appreciation to those who have blazed trails before us. Check in on an elder neighbor or friend. You could invite them to one of the many family meals happening this season. Perhaps they need a ride to the grocery store to pick up food or gifts. If you have young children, you can lead the way in paying it forward and sing Christmas carols at a retirement home or village. If you are religious, church groups often do activities like this.

Get creative! You’ll feel a lot better about yourself after you have done something for someone else. Although your grandmother might have very much appreciated the high end cookware you got from the store during a massive sale, but I’ll bet she will appreciate even more the thoughtfulness you show when you stop by to install some grab bars into her tub. You might even come back home with a childhood story that you had never heard before.

These pictures and stories you get now will mean the world to the generations who will come after you.

Our Guest Blogger this week is Andrea Stephens, Coordinator, East Texas Area Health Education Center, North Central Region, Weatherford College.

Join us for a real-time discussion about questions raised by this essay on Tuesday from 12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. See Discussion and SL tabs above for details. Link to the virtual meeting room: http://tinyurl.com/cjfx9ag.