Retail 24/7

When I was a kid (actually I still am at heart) stores were closed on Sundays. Mostly everything was closed on Sundays. Restaurants were open. Bakeries were open. The bagel place was open. But supermarkets were closed. Sunday was family time.

Of course, being Jewish, we went to Hebrew school on Sunday mornings. Only for a few hours. After that, the day was open. Sometimes we drove into the city to visit my grandparents. Sundays were for reading the papers. Sprawled on the floor with the funny pages. My parents lingering over second cups of coffee.

Then the laws changed and stores started opening on Sundays. Malls became the place to be on a Sunday (Saturday too). It was so exciting to be able to shop on a Sunday. The stores closed on holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day etc.

Then the laws changed again and stores started to open on holidays as well. Retail extravaganza. Holiday specials. Sales galore. As I grew up and joined the work force I was thrilled that I could shop on a holiday when I wasn’t actually working. Shopping on a Sunday after a Saturday evening gig was amazing to me. Sleep in, have coffee in LARGE cups and then go shopping. I love to shop. And contrary to what my mother says, I don’t ALWAYS buy something each time I go into a store. Just sometimes. OK, a lot of the time. But not ALWAYS!

So now, I work in retail. There are no weekends. And being in the airport there are no holidays. We are open 365 days a year. 5 AM to when the last flight boards. Yes, we are open on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter and Yom Kippur and all the other days as well. I can’t complain. I really like my schedule and although I work on the weekends, I have two other days off together. MY weekend. Better actually. I can make appointments.

Still, I miss the days when stores actually closed for a day each week. A little time off. An extra cup of coffee and the funny pages. Or these days, the crossword puzzle.

 Whatever happened to Sunday?

 Have a great week…this is day one of MY weekend!