As you all probably know, there has been a lot of buzz lately about Black Friday shopping this year.

Memes are littering Facebook saying things like, “Black Friday, ‘cause only in America people trample others for cheap things one day after being thankful for everything they have.”

The buzz this year is that stores are opening literally only hours after a typical family might sit down and eat their Thanksgiving meal. Many stores, including Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and many others are opening their doors to Black Friday shoppers on what is being called “Gray Thursday.”

What I hear people saying is that this is wrong, and they are probably right. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time for us to sit back with our families while eating our favorite foods, telling stories, and spending time with one another being thankful for all that we have.

However, family bonding may be transforming into parents and kids running around Wal-Mart to get the best DVDs that $3 can buy or the latest gaming system. Most of the stores opening that Thursday are opening either at 6 or 8 p.m., earlier than even last year.

I’m guilty of it too though. Last year, I went to Wal-Mart to get some good deals. I think their first sale started at 8 p.m. and I will admit that I stood in line to wait just like all the other early shoppers, so I have a hard time making a judgement about this.

Overall, I would say that I do wish stores would hold off on opening until at least 10 or later on Thanksgiving if they have to. Usually by 10, the holiday festivities are over and shopping does not cut into family time. This allows both the employees and the customers to have a nice, relaxing day before the madness begins.