Column: Don’t let the holidays wipe you out

The equally anticipated and dreaded Black Friday has passed me right by again for the 10th year in a row. That’s OK though because shopping in a hostile environment has never been my cup of tea.

The term Black Friday was coined in the 1960s as a way to market the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. Black refers to the money stores planned to make, particularly for those operating in the red. When bookkeeping records were kept by hand, red ink indicated a loss and black a profit.

In Indian Land, we now do have choices to shop locally and support our community in a less stressful way by shopping at the small businesses in our area. Two great gift shops are the Southern Nest and another called Gold Star Boutique & Gifts (named in remembrance of owner Diana Massey’s son who was killed in Afghanistan in 2007), we also have Chickadee’s, a women’s clothing store.

The only thing we’re really missing in Indian Land is a book store.

We see the holiday season coming and we immediately feel exhausted and overwhelmed. For some “the season to be jolly” becomes the season to wipe you out.

I think it is important for us to realize the real meaning of Christmas and the holiday season.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Column: Don’t let the holidays wipe you out."