This morning (after oversleeping yet again), I pondered the fact that tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. This is supposed to herald the start of the Holiday Season, the way Memorial Day heralds the start of summer. When I think back to last year, I realize that by this time I had done my distant-relative Christmas gift shopping (a necessary evil due to shipping delays), written the Dreaded Holiday Letter and addressed all the Christmas cards (so I could drop them in the mails at Christmas, Florida the day after Thanksgiving), and even purchased an airline ticket for a surprise visit to the parentals in Oregon (this done AFTER the shopping & shipping was complete, as a last-minute thought). The outdoor lights for the new house were prepped to be put up, and I came in to decorate my cubicle at work over the weekend so it would "magically transform" when no one was looking.
This year all I've managed to do is buythe Christmas cards (no letter, no addresses, no desire to drive to the Christmas Post Ofice for mailing), and send a wish list to family and request theirs. I've contemplated giving the yard a sprucing on Friday, but the light thing doesn't even excite me this year. About the only "holiday" thing I've really gotten into this year is the food, and that's largely due to retailers. Williams-Sonoma got me in the mood for spiced apple cider back in October, and now Publix features egg nog. Starbucks has rolled out their holiday line (Christmas Blend coffee, and Egg Nog and Gingerbread Lattes). Hopefully tomorrow's annual Family Thanksgiving Feast will help kick my holiday mood into motion — after all, it's about the food, too.
