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I love being able to spend the holidays with my family. Sometimes I am not able to go out to NC to see them, but I am grateful I am nearby other family members and get to spend them with my husband. I am so grateful this Thanksgiving I didn’t have to work either of my jobs and was able to just enjoy the presence of family even though the delicious Pecan Pie sugar overload made me pass out for most of it..I still had a good time! I think anyone who wants to spend the holidays with their family should be able to do so. Of course, there are those jobs like working in a hospital or similar jobs I don’t even think of that unfortunately need to be open for care to others. Thank you to those of you who do that so in case of emergencies we are able to get the help we need. I think that if I want to spend the holidays not at work, I shouldn’t make others work if I can help it.

I think it’s just that simple. I make sure I buy everything I need to before Thanksgiving/ Christmas Eve/ Sunday so that when that day comes I don’t need to go to the store. If I do need something, I call around and see if someone else has it. (Thanks Kylee) I know we don’t all observe the Sabbath or even observe it Sunday. I know we aren’t all Christian or find Christmas an important holiday. But for those of us that do, perhaps we should keep in mind that others are having to work on that holiday and if you go out to the store or the gas station or the movies..you are making someone else work on a day you consider a holiday. Maybe it hasn’t crossed your mind so that’s why I’m here! 😉 When I was really little I remember watching the movie the Santa Clause for the first time and loving it! However, I remember in the movie when Tim Allen burns the turkey and they go out to Denny’s because it’s the only place open to eat on Christmas Eve. As a kid I thought, “That stinks they made that poor waitress Judy work on Christmas Eve.” I was sad that people had to work on a holiday that to me is so special.

If you are able to spend that holiday with your family why would you want to take that away from someone else? For me Sunday is the Sabbath and I try my best to keep it holy. The Bible says not to work on Sundays or have anyone else work. I get a little crazy about this myself and so I know others don’t feel the same way. I feel guilty watching a football game on Sundays because I know there are people that have to work at that stadium on Sunday. I don’t call customer service on Sundays because I don’t want someone to work to answer my question and I wait till Monday. I know there are a million other ways that you can get nick-picky about. I just do what I can not to have people work if I don’t want to, I just would feel so hypocritical.  I get it, I don’t want to cook either. It’s nice to go out and eat a nice meal especially after 3 hours of church! But for me the Sabbath is more important than that and I’ll tell you why.

When I was younger I played on a traveling soccer team. Every time there was a tournament there was a game on Saturday and the final game on Sunday. I always missed out on the final game of the tournaments and I felt really left out. When our team won tournaments they’d bring me my trophy at practice and tell me how awesome the game was and I hated it. But, in our house you didn’t play on Sundays and that’s just how it was. When I was in High School my new soccer coach for my club team told me I played on Sundays or I didn’t play. My mom let me make the decision and I chose to play. But instead of being happy every Sunday, I found myself wishing I was home with my family going to church every week instead of playing the games. I came to find for myself that I wanted to observe the Sabbath and didn’t like my coach telling me I couldn’t.

After that season I rarely missed a Sunday at church. When I worked at Disney I would have to work Sundays pretty frequently. At first I was annoyed but then I began to really miss going to church. One Sunday I finally was able to go to church after not being able to for several weeks. It was fast and testimony Sunday and I felt so good being in that building. The Spirit was so strong and soothing I thought, how have I lived without this? I just felt so much better and my week went smoother and I was happier. After that, I did everything I could to get Sunday off. I would beg my managers to let me go to church and sometimes if it was slow they would let me go home early so I could go to church. Ever since then I made a promise to myself that I would do everything I could to Observe the Sabbath and help others be able to if they wanted to. When I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I spent my first Christmas away from home. Two years in a row I spent Christmas in a town in California instead of in Asheville NC. It was hard on me. I knew Christmas was important to me but I didn’t know how much I enjoyed spending it with my family until my mission. I would never want anyone to have to not spend Christmas day with their family either.

This is why this is all so important to me. If someone wants to not work on a day they find holy, or important to their family, I feel they shouldn’t have to work. This is why I am so passionate about this. I am grateful that every Christmas my parents were both able to be home with my family and spend the day with us. I am grateful I have never had to spend a Christmas Day working either. My brother had to work on Thanksgiving this year and couldn’t drive up to Logan with us and eat dinner and spend time with family. He had to spend it alone because he had to work. Broke my heart. When you go out on a holiday and there is someone working, that is someone’s mom, brother or spouse NOT spending the holiday with their family.

I realize my view is very strong and perhaps offensive, but it’s important to me. I know there are exceptions but my point is: please, if you don’t want to have to be working on a Holiday, please don’t make someone else do it. Tips for the holidays from my perspective:

Plan ahead. Make sure you buy everything you need before the day you use it. I go through my recipe list before I head to the store just in case. Sometimes I make mistakes but then I call a friend and see if they have what I am missing for my recipe instead of going to the store.

How to tell what days you should not shop: If it’s a holiday like the 4th of July and you’re glad you are able to go to a cookout and eat hotdogs and go to work..that means you should abstain from making someone else work on that holiday.

If there is a movie that comes out on a holiday you observe, watch it the next day. You don’t need to see it that day. You can wait a day.

If for any reason you do have to make someone else work on a holiday, thank them. It means a lot to hear someone acknowledges that you have to work on a day that is less preferable.

Stores are open because they think they will make money that day because people will come in. If they don’t, they may think twice about being open the next year on that holiday. 


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