Merry Thanksgiving

I know. I know. I KNOW it is too early. We haven't even carved the Thanksgiving turkey yet, the pumpkin pies have yet to be baked, and we really should be fully focused on fall. And yet, I must admit I felt a twinge of good will when I turned on my favorite "light rock" station to hear Christmas carols. Yes, I am the one person you know who listens to "light rock", I admit that I have a strong affection for Billy Joel, Wham and I do believe that you can never hear "wind beneath my wings" too many times. I have discovered that it is always the light stations that turn their play lists over to holiday music around this time of year, and I will keep my radio tuned to the gluttony of forced holiday cheer until the 2009 fades into 2010.

I admit, I rolled my eyes as I walked into a Macy's shortly after Halloween to see the trees trimmed and the holiday marketing rolled out. Yet, the older I get the faster December flies by, and it starts to feel that the season just isn't long enough. I always have so many good intentions. We will have a family Hanukkah party and a neighborhood Christmas bash. We will go and see Zoo lights. I'll have Christmas tea with my best girlfriends. I will send greeting cards to all of our loved ones. I'll volunteer. There will be a cookie swap. We will take the boys to the mall with the best Santa. I'll try new recipes. I'll make gifts for all the neighbors. You get the idea. But the holiday season races by, and inevitably I accomplish very few of these goals. So maybe it isn't such a bad idea to stretch the season out a few weeks. And yet, it does seem a little silly to turn on the holiday tunes before we have even smelled a pumpkin pie.

But there is something so magical about those Christmas Carols. As I drove home this evening, with Frank Sinatra belting out Winter Wonderland, I felt a coziness that only the holidays can serve up. Somehow the streets seemed more animated. As I watched the pedestrians hurrying along Shattuck, I could almost envision a scene out of a Christmas Carole or the Nutcracker-busy shoppers in petticoats, and top hats carrying packages as fake crystal snow flakes fall from center stage. What can I say. I love it. I want it to last. Merry Thanksgiving....