Last month, I was in Arizona for my sister’s wedding. She owns two horses, Paint and Splash. Being the maid of honor, I traveled a few days ahead of the rest of my family,  and got to spend a lot of time with her before her big day.

While I was there, she taught me how to ride a horse; something I haven’t done since I was a pre-teen on a youth group trip. Needless to say, I was as beginner as it gets! I was surprised at how much there was to learn– it’s not just getting up into a saddle and saying, “Giddy up!” Turns out, there is a specific way of sitting in the saddle, holding the reins, and positioning your feet in the stirrups. Then, add in all the commands the horse understands. 

When I was growing up, Black Friday was a huge event. People would finish up their Thanksgiving meal and head out to camp in front of a store all night in the freezing cold to get in as soon as the doors opened early morning the next day. There would be news stories of people that were trampled and died trying to get the next best deal. Flash forward to this year, and you’d never even know that people would literally risk their lives to kick off their Christmas season. I don’t think I know one person that got up before dawn let alone ventured out to shop. Whether that has something to do with online shopping, the lack of sales, or money being tight, maybe we should take advantage of the fact that this Christmas isn’t starting off with the same consumerist kickoff it has in the past.