Who said we have to

Media schmedia…Why do we let them dictate our lives? Why is it up to the media or the world of marketing to decide when we can and can’t buy things?

Think about, we are approaching Labor Day. This is a day set aside to celebrate all of those hard working men and women. This is our day of rest and relaxation. A day we celebrate with our friends and families at backyard BBQ’s. But as I was reading the paper this morning I noticed a huge headline that said “Only 131 shopping days left until Christmas” in big bold letters!

This, my friends, irritates the crap out of me. We have just stepped across the line from August into September and already the marketing magnets are worried about their bottom dollar. The stores are already filled with Halloween candy. And come October 1st I guarantee we will see stores filled with bright colorful full-on Christmas displays…It’s September people!

But it only gets worse from here on out! The unfortunate part is that we can’t even enjoy the holiday where we are supposed to be thankful for all that we have because companies are so worried about being in the black! It’s unfortunate that we go from Halloween directly into a Christmas shopping frenzy. Madness on the roads, in the stores, everywhere we look people are spending money that they don’t have to buy presents for people that they don’t like…it’s pandemonium!

And why would we even think about catching a break to recover from the holidays before they start pushing Valentines Day down our throats…January and February is a celebration that supposedly leads us to the most romantic day of the year, at which point we are reminded that the Easter bunny is right around the corner.

And Easter…why, that’s just minutes before summer, isn’t it? Time to buy new clothes, plan vacations, and oh, by the way…can you still fit into that bikini you wore last year? But whatever you do…hurry up, because the back to school frenzy is just around the corner…and the rush, rush, rush frenzy of the media and marketers will be starting all over again.

Honestly, this rush rush rushness saddens me. I used to look forward to Halloween as a kid, but not months before Halloween. I used to look forward to putting up our Christmas tree the first nice weekend in December. I used to be able to celebrate and enjoy the holidays without worrying about what’s next.

Why do we rush? Who said we have to? Can’t we have Halloween fun and decorations in mid October, Christmas carols and shopping in December, pink hearts and chocolates in early February? Can’t we have some down time at the mall. Can we not have a chance to shop at the mall just to shop and not have to worry about purchasing something for a particular holiday that is months and months away? I like shopping for “stuff”…non traditional, non-denominational, non-holiday, non-hallmark stuff. Stuff like, well, like… underwear! Oh who am I kidding we all know I don’t shop for underwear (I threw in this statement just to gross out my sister-in-law).

So seriously people, let’s stop rushing and sit back and smell the roses. After all, it is only Labor Day weekend…let’s make a pact to just enjoy each other and celebrate not having to call in sick to work on a Monday for a change!