Monday, November 20, 2006

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas

i give you permission to go ahead and judge me now. i realize that thanksgiving hasn't even made it's debut in 2006 yet and I'm already talking about Christmas, but last night when i was walking to my friend john's house, i realized that it smelled like Christmas. it was the smell i would smell when we'd walk outside on thanksgiving night to admire the fruits of my dad's labor to make our the Christmas lights on our house look just perfect. it's the smell I'd smell when we'd finally arrive at our home on Christmas eve on the way to the front door ready for round two of presents. perhaps i smell it here, because it's cold and inevitably people are burning wood in their fireplaces or they are cooking in their kitchens and the leaves are crunching under my feet, but to me it smells like Christmas.

john and i went out for a walk last night to retrieve dinner and on the way there was a house in his neighborhood that had a tree strung with multicolored lights and candy canes lining the side walk. he mused, "Well now that's a little early don't you think?"

no, i don't think. i had a thought the other day. i look forward to Christmas time so much. not so much the gifts, but definitely the festivities surrounding Christmas time. the radio stations that play Christmas music non stop, the egg nog, the lights, and lest i soon forget, the food. it makes me happy and certainly does wonders for my spirits, but then like clockwork on December 26th it's done and over with. sure the Christmas tree might stay up until new years, but all the festive hype is gone and people don't make it a priority to turn their house lights on as much and egg nog starts disappearing from the shelves not to return until next November, and the radio goes back to justin timberlake and gnarls barkley non stop.

you invite the title of looney or lazy upon yourself if you leave the decorations and the festivities up too long, so why not welcome in the holiday a little sooner than thanksgiving? after all, it is the most wonderful time of the year.