Holidays Schmolidays

For the first time in my life, it looks like I will be working on at least a couple of holidays. My manager apologized ahead of time before telling me that I will be working a closing shift on Thanksgiving. Fortunately, the store closes at 3:00 p.m. that day, so I won't miss dinner. However, it's also quite definite that I will be working on Black Friday (aka The day after Thanksgiving) and dealing with that craziness. While the store will be closed on Christmas, we will be open on Christmas Eve. As such, there is a good chance that I could end up working on my birthday for the first time ever. Something also tells me that I may be working either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.

Working on holidays will be a new thing for me, but my dad has had to deal with it for years now. He works at a casino and rarely gets any holidays off. In fact, in the past, we have actually opened our Christmas gifts before midnight Christmas Day so my dad could get joy out of watching my sister and I open our gifts. The fortunate thing is that my dad works the night shift, so all of us still get to be together during the daytime of most holidays. Also, it looks like he'll be off on New Year's Eve for the first time in nearly 10 years.

Ultimately, I'm disappointed that I have to work on holidays but I'm thankful that I'm working at all. Working on Thanksgiving will give me more cash that I can use to buy gifts for friends and family. I love the Holiday season and I get a kick out of buying good gifts for people almost as much (or even more so) than receiving stuff I want. My sister is the easiest to shop for (given that I just flat out ask her what she wants) and my relatives are the most difficult (since a lot of them buy stuff for themselves all the time). It's a challenge to buy stuff for people that they'll not only like but will actually use. However, the right gift for the right person, even if it's not all that expensive, can make a big difference. Even if I have to work every holiday this season, I'm going to enjoy myself like I do every year regardless.