Can We Talk 2

The Season Is Here

         Time to get your holiday costume! The masks are on the shelf. Baby clothes that they will wear only once-"My First Halloween"-are on the racks. Decorations and party gear are everywhere. But Thanksgiving things are also out. Christmas catalogs are out. Baby and toddler clothes with Christmas trees and snowflakes are mixed in with winter coats.

         I hung the autumn wreath on my front door yesterday. The little scarecrows are on my dining room mantel. We're already thinking of holiday plans. This time of year will rush by as always. It seems like it goes faster than any months on the calender. And when Christmas goes by in a whir, I always feel let down, like it came and went and I hardly felt it.

         We say every year that we're going to simplify, but we don't. Well, some of us simplify in a few ways, but not the ways that mean less work for me. I guess as long as my dad is alive, we will gather at my house, do the gigantic meal and a big tree, with everyone exchanging gifts. Thanksgiving will be a big meal at my house, with me working that night. Halloween is no big deal except for decorating a little. The time still races by. It will be January before you know it.

         The weather finally cooled off today. The leaves will be falling soon. Time to get a pumpkin.