Black Friday Inspiration
27 Nov
I worked for over a decade in retail, so I’ve never been a big fan of black Friday. I value my sleep more than a “good” deal, so I’ve never been the kind of person to get up before the sun to go shopping. This year I was given an opportunity to do something different with the wee hours of my black Friday morning…I took the opening shift (5am-8:30am) at the Y.
I wasn’t too sure what to expect. Would it be busy with the dedicated members I’ve grown to love? Would it be a ghost town as everyone is either sleeping off their turkey coma or out shopping? I was about to find out.
I have to admit that I was kind of disappointed when I got there and saw only employee cars in the lot. I’ve worked this early shift before and there are usually a few brave souls waiting patiently at the door to get in.
It was a slow start, but they eventually started to trickle in. The regulars. The people who won’t even miss a workout on the day after Thanksgiving. I was proud of them. I bet that no matter how dedicated I was I would have stayed in bed. I was truly inspired to see people opting for a workout over sleeping in or shopping. The members that morning made me want to do better, to exercise more, to get my ass in shape.
With all the horror stories that I saw on the news throughout the day of people being punched, kicked, pepper sprayed and even stabbed over frivolous possessions, it was refreshing to see people who cared about the things that are truly important. Being healthy and fit, but even more importantly, friends and community. I saw friends meeting up to go running, play basketball, hit a class and visit the fitness center…at six in the morning the day after Thanksgiving!
Sure, it was an early morning. Sure, I could have been shopping…Oh let’s be realistic here, I could have been sleeping. I’m glad I took the opportunity to go in and work, the members at my Y are a true inspiration. They could have been doing any number of things, but instead they came to exercise.
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