Christmas

I can't believe it's only going to be one week until Christmas.  Where did December go?  Where did November for that matter?  I find as I get older I tend to get completely lost in the bustle of life and forget about the simple things, like the holiday.  I notice that people are commenting about it on FaceBook, I see that people notice the holiday is approaching, but I feel like there's so many things I have to do before the holiday, and I am often left thinking, "What?  What do you mean Christmas is in one week?  You *MUST* be joking."

I suspect that part of this is the, "I am getting older so time passes quicker for me than it did when I was a child." thing.  Each day has less of an impact on my life because they are worth less than they were worth when I was young.  Since this is true, and I still have the thought pattern that there is always tomorrow to finish up what I can't complete today, the time goes by so quickly that I hardly get a chance to stop and pause, notice things like the lights on houses, or the crisp scent of winter in the air.

It's probably also somewhat related to the fact that I live in Florida, and although they definitely have a winter, it is not the same as seeing snow on the ground, heralding in the season and the reminder that soon there will be this great big holiday where everyone gets together and gives each other presents.  Although I am a self proclaimed snow hater, it does a fantastic job of pointing out the season I'm in and telling me to get cracking on the gift decisions.  I don't want to go back to the land of snow, ice and sludge, but once I'm there, I'll know what season it is because of the clothes I have to wear, not because of the date on the calendar.  I'm still in shorts and t-shirts with fans and ac running.  Up north I'm sure people don't leave the house without coats, and possibly two or three layers of clothes, and most likely mittens and scarves.  It might not be snowing, but there is cold, and although it's cold down here, it's simply not that cold.  So far this season I haven't had to put on long sleeves.  Go tropical weather.  I love it, but I have noticed a much harder time knowing what season it is simply by walking outside.  Never had that problem in Ohio.

Please don't get me wrong and think that I want to go back to the snow, because I don't, I'm just pointing out the difference and realizing that may be part of the reason why the holidays creep up on me.  Yule is in 4 days and I've just pulled out my yuletide music.  Come December 1st I used to listen to that album again and again until the date (and sometimes afterwards) but now it's like I hardly get the chance to listen to the music before the holiday is up.  It's sad, because I love it.  Oh, and if anyone knows of any pagan/yule albums other than MotherTongue's This Winter's Night, let me know, because I am totally interested in good, pleasant music for the season.

I'm excited to be doing the cooking of cookies this year, because I think that there will be some actual interest in them.  I bake several different kinds and use them as presents.  There are sugar cookies, lemon bars, ginger shortbread, thumbprints, sometimes chocolate chip, and then something else that we decide to make.  Years ago we baked a whole batch of chocolate chip for Grandpa (Wife's side) and I'd make a ginger shortbread batch completely for my Grp, and then we'd mix the rest.  We always made a batch of Anise cookies for Carol (Wife's mother), and we had just begun to make tea cookies (thank you Mom for the recipe!) on a regular basis.  My sister loves those.  I love doing that, making the cookies, decorating them, cutting them out and having a house that smells so much like cookies and cookie dough that you can't walk in without thinking about it.  This year I have my own kitchen, and I'm going to be so involved in cooking I'm going to be busy.

And you know what?  I'm starting to get excited, really excited, about this.  Cookies, holiday, wrapping paper, decorations... I want to put everything up, I want to have garland all over, and I want to remember how fantastic the holiday is.  Hey, it's about family, and caring, and enjoying each others company.  That's good, right?  I can get into that.