This is the Most Wonderful Time of Year
The season begins with leaves changing their color and the weather turning crisper and cooler. The obscene dry heat is a thing of the past and the air just smells better. In California, we begin our hopes that we will get rain. Anticipation grows as several holidays and celebrations approach.
Perhaps my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. It reminds us to be grateful for everything we hold dear and for our good fortune. A joyous feast is the center piece of the holiday where we consume great quantities of comfort food with family members. During our food coma, we play games, exchange stories, and enjoy each other’s company. We flashback to the difficulties faced by the earliest settlers and their perseverance that led to the formation of the greatest country on earth that provides the freedom and liberties we all enjoy every day of the year.
Christmas sneaks up on us next. It always seems to arrive too quickly, but it is a wonderful journey. We attend several parties, mail Christmas cards to our friends, reach out to persons that we don’t see regularly, and make lists for gift shopping and check it twice. We start scheduling the timetable to watch our favorite movies, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, “Frosty the Snowman”, “Miracle on 34th Street”, “A Christmas Carol”, “How the Grinch stole Christmas”, and “Elf”, to name a few. And it all culminates with another family gathering where gifts are exchanged, and another delicious meal is shared.
New Years Eve is a late but festive evening and morphs into parades and football bowl games on January 1st. Another time for friends and family to gather and make our resolutions for the year. And of course, more food.
I love the Holiday Season. Let the diets begin.