As a father of five, and a grandpa to seven, I am a veteran of dealing with kids and their propensity for over-anticipation. In the “Good Old Days,” you could count on the seasons. You could count on retailers sticking to an unspoken rule of when they would bring out Halloween decorations, when it was OK to start pitching deals on Thanksgiving Turkeys, and when we would see the huge Christmas catalogs from Sears and Montgomery Wards hit our mailboxes.
Yes. I am that old.
But today, the lines have become so blurred, so completely without real meaning, that we find ourselves anticipating events, and expecting instant gratification in ways that have blown the word “anticipation” out of the lexicon of our current culture.
We are so used to being able to click a mouse, or tap a padular device, and have something delivered to our house, that the very thought of waiting for something worthwhile is a thing of the past. The “Amazon Way” has given rise to year-around shopping…for anything…anytime…with shorter and shorter windows for delivery. And concurrently, out of survival, many of the largest Box Stores have mimicked this culture with “Same Day Grocery Delivery” and “Bonus Reward Deals” available only for “Drive Thru Instant Delivery Pickup.” You don’t have to shop around people anymore. You don’t have to wait for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade for Christmas to officially start. You don’t have to wait for anything.
And then…there is the “EA Way.”
Continue reading