The holiday season has always been a special time for our family, despite the business that comes with it! We always find ourselves spending a bit more time together, laughing at jokes that might have gotten eye rolls a few months earlier, and, of course, putting in quite a few hours of decorating for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Christmastime is our largest undertaking, but there's something peaceful about bringing down the boxes full of autumn leaves, smiling scarecrows, and pumpkins that are just too pleasant to be included in the Halloween decorations. It only takes us a few hours to finish up, but we're always glad to have spent it together, with no sense of chaos and no deadlines to meet.
At this time of the year, it's easy to get caught up in the rush. There are meals to prepare, family coming in, presents to buy and wrap (hopefully before Christmas Eve, though we've all been there!), and something always goes wrong, whether the turkey is still frozen when it's time to eat, or there's a squirrel in the Christmas tree, a la National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (fingers crossed none of us have to deal with such a thing, though it would add some excitement!), and without fail, we all have our "Cousin Eddie" adventures over the holidays.
Even if nothing goes wrong at all, we oftentimes find ourselves at New Year's, wondering how November and December flew by so quickly. After all, it's supposed to be August, right? But whether you're so full of holiday spirit that you've been playing Christmas songs nonstop since November 1st at 12:01 AM, or if you're still insisting that "It's only November, turn that off!", we hope that you'll take a moment in the middle of the hustle and bustle and realize that, hey, life is good, family is crazy (but that's okay), and there's really so much to be thankful for.
It is the most wonderful time of the year, after all.
