Museum Store Sunday! Today, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, is now known as Museum Store Sunday. I won’t get to a museum store in person today, but I do love museum stores. When I look up a museum’s website, I don’t just look at their collection, location, hours, and admission price. I always take a few moments to peruse their online store. I can’t help it. The items are always so unique to that particular museum.
Here are some of my recent fave museum shops:
- Old Cowtown Museum shop — The store for our local restored 1870s town.
- Kansas Oil Museum shop — Where my beloved restored 1920s town is located.
- Fort Worth Science and Industry Museum shop — Very large museum shop, with loads of cool things for all ages!
- Cowgirl Hall of Fame shop (25% off on Nov. 25!) — They have a great collection of western clothing and accessories.
- National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum — A superb selection of western clothing, furnishings, books, and mementos. This is where I bought my Gretty Zueger blouses.
- Historic Royal Palaces shops — (Gift with purchase over £25 today at selected shops)
- And don’t forget zoo shops! It seems like zoos always have really cool shops.
Cyber Monday is tomorrow. Sigh. I don’t need anything. But unplanned things happen on Cyber Monday. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether I’ll give in to some unplanned purchase. I shall try to resist.
Giving Tuesday is coming up in two days. Giving is a deeply personal concept. Do any of us need an annual day to remind us to give? No. Show me one person who doesn’t give generously to others, year ’round, either with funds or with volunteerism. That person will be hard to find.
To me, the value in Giving Tuesday is the reminder to stop and reflect on what we do for others, and why we do it. My focus has radically evolved over the years, ranging from:
Children (Big Brothers Big Sisters)
Animals in need (fostering homeless doggos for the humane society)
Food kitchens and pantries, warm wear for homeless
- volunteering at the history museum
- supporting public television
- donating to every single kid who rings the doorbell with a school fundraiser
And then there are the disaster-stricken areas. Who isn’t moved to give when family homes are decimated by Mother Nature? We all step up and give when people need us to give.
A bit of what I’ve been reflecting on lately: I feel my interests drifting toward advocating for affordable and accessible transportation options, and protection of rights of the down and out. Since becoming a bike commuter several years ago, this struggling sector of our population has become more visible to me. You see a lot more from a bicycle than a car. Meanwhile, it looks like I’ll be bringing home another foster pup this week, for a month of Rx and socialization. Tough duty, not. ❤
So don’t think of Giving Tuesday as an admonishment, or an obligation, or as that barrage of corporate charity emails and envelopes arriving in the mail for the next two months asking for your monetary donation. Use it to reflect with warmth and a measure of satisfaction on those things you do for others, and resolve to keep helping in those areas you feel are most important. Carry on.
run | sew | read 