Today, first and foremost, is Tommy's birthday! Six years old. It' like a whole-nother time of life. He is no longer a baby, in any way. He's a young boy now. At least in my mind. Almost too big to cuddle on my lap. Definitely too big to pick up or carry with no consequences to my aging back. But still cherubic and angelic. Still with the soft nose and velvety cheeks and goofy grin. Still absolutely PERFECT to me. Happy birthday, Tommy!
But November also signifies the beginning of the holiday season, and the beginning of the long, dark, cold winter that puts me in a funk. As you know, I am already in a funk, I don't need any more funk in my life. Well, except KC and The Sunshine Band. They are always welcome in my life. Anyway, I don't like winter. It's already getting cold, we have no working furnace, and I have a mountain of chocolate in the house. Recipe for disaster?
Thanksgiving is among my favorite of holidays. I guess the food is an obvious reason for this, but I truly love to focus on being grateful and focus on who and what I am grateful for. It's so ironic to me, the last few years. I will be looking at a table filled with amazing food, and usually surrounded by family, and think of so many with no food, no family, no joy. Nothing to be thankful for. (Well, there is always something to be thankful for, but sometimes we can not see it.) I look at our challenges- our finances, my health, no insurance - and I remember once again that we are still far more blessed than most. I realize this is not exactly what Thanksgiving is meant to commemorate, but it is for me.
Now, if we could figure out a way to do it without traveling anywhere and without a house full of people.......
Just kidding. Mostly.
Last year we did just that. Most of our family traveled to a remote cabin to have Thanksgiving together. We opted out because pondering the logistics of carting three kids, cooking equipment and food, and sharing one kitchen between all of us was simply horrifying! It was no accident that we decided to stay home. My father died that Tuesday, and Thanksgiving morning I learned I had also lost my friend Mike, also to cancer. Home, with my husband and kids, is exactly where I needed to be. And I was thankful.
After that, it's pretty much a waiting game until Spring. Like, marking the calendar days until April kind of waiting. December 21st is a wonderful day for me, as I know I will get one more minute of daylight each day. I make sure I know the time of our sunset and I celebrate the extra minute each day. Yeah, yeah. There are Christmas and New Year's in there, too. Savior's birth, new beginnings, yadayadayada. But seriously, just give me the sunshine and warmth. Please.
*Realization as I write- Perhaps this is my reason for the strong pull I feel to go back to the southwest? Shorts on Christmas day? It gets dark at the same time, but it never feels like winter there. Hmm.....
So, Happy November! Happy birthday, Tommy! Let's do this. I am keeping my eye on the goal.
I used to love winter. Having a birthday on December 1st might have had something to do with that. Also, all the holiday days off from school was nice. Interestingly, for the first 20 years of my life I could guarantee that I would be sick on Thanksgiving Day. It wasn't a psychological issue; I actually liked the holiday! Just repetitiously bad timing. It became a sort of running joke with me, after a while. It stopped happening about a decade ago, but then I went and developed Crohn's disease so maybe that was life's way of laying off me?
ReplyDeleteI think I'd have liked Thanksgiving more if I cared about football in the least. The idea of watching a bunch of family members I have to make an effort to tolerate on a normal day gather to watch football just doesn't appeal to me.
Still, I feel like the holiday season is the light at the end of the year-long tunnel. I just hope each year that I won't find out that light is emanating from a train. Here's hopin'!