Some folks DO grown their own food. These lovely wee eggs were a gorgeous gift from my niece, Cathie Searles. That woman knows how to harvest!

I’m not sure, but for a while there, it looks like I was in danger of losing my mind. I do know that I was in Shoprite supermarket this past Sunday (just to pick up my free turkey). On Monday I was in Foodtown, doing my regular shopping and picking up the free turkey I earned there (free food is free food; if you want to know how to get away with serving turkey five ways in seven days, LMK). Today, Tuesday, I was in Whole Foods because they have the best prices on soy milk and tofu—staples for the two vegetarians in my house—and I was out of both.

I don’t need to tell you that all three places were nuts. Crowded. Intense. Thanksgiving is nearly upon us! In order to be grateful we must shop ferociously! Yikes!

I hate crowds. I hate shopping. Three stores in three days! Triple nuts!

This is also gratitude week. So, yes, I’m mad grateful that I can easily get as much delicious, gorgeous food as my family needs (and then some).

However, I was not having fun that first day shopping. Did I mention I hate crowds and shopping? There I was in Shoprite, gritting my teeth and trying to be in a thankful state of mind when I had a flash of inspiration: What if I looked at the crowds not as a plague of pesky, aisle-clogging locusts but as a team of my fellows engaging in a Harvest Festival?

After all, Thanksgiving happens in the fall for a reason. The original one, so the story goes, was a celebration of the season’s abundance. In the burbs here, we mostly don’t grow and harvest our own crops. But we do go out to the store to secure provisions for our fall feast.

So I tried on this new Harvest Festival idea. And Dear Reader, it worked! When I looked at the other shoppers not as obstacles to my progress but as fellow harvesters, all of us together gathering supplies to nourish our beloved families, I was able to chill, get what I needed, and get out of there! I’m pretty sure, too, that I actually smiled at a few people.

The changed perspective worked in the next two stores as well. Eureka!

I can’t honestly say I enjoyed myself. But I did manage to retain my sanity and my dignity. Now there’s something to be grateful for.

No, I didn’t my mind. This is how I know for sure: I most definitely will not be indulging in any black Friday rituals. I don’t want to push my luck.

Happy Thanksgiving!