Thanksgiving was nice. Quiet, but nice. Mom’s dressing was awesome (as usual) and this year my sister burned the rolls. She’s just not meant for more than toast and cereal where kitchen matters are concerned. That’s probably what keeps her stick-thin.

By Thanksgiving evening mom and I were coming down with what we swore were “allergies.” Turns out - not so much. By Friday morning we both had roaring head colds. By Saturday mine was nearly gone but by then both Mike and Ethan had come down with it as well.

In spite of the colds and stormy weather Saturday turned out far better than expected. We bought our car, with very little hassle, I might add. Mike behaved himself (probably the cold) and haggled until he got a good deal. We didn’t even deal at the dealership but did most of it online and over the phone - which was great, especially given the state of everyone’s health and the weather.

By 3pm we were test driving the soon-to-be new vehicle (a Suburban - it’s wonderful!) and signing the papers while they washed it and took stickers off, etc. It pays to go into the lot when the weather is bad, towards the end of the month, and later in the day. In this case, they closed by 6pm and were rushing to get our paperwork done and us out the door. :o)

What is it about the holiday season that makes everyone so rushed? You often hear the terms “hustle” and “bustle” used to describe the “holiday rush.”

Yet, the really odd thing is that it seems as though the world takes a little vacation from the annoying daily grind. It’s almost as if there is an unwritten law that states, “No life altering decisions shall be made or acted upon from November 15th through January 01.”

And, while job changes, purchasing cars and houses, moving, business (except retail), seems to slow considerably - everything else seems to speed up. It’s almost as if in that month or so of the holiday season we’re all trying to catch up for the “home living” we’ve missed out on during the rest of the year.

We try to put a year’s worth of appreciating family and friends, baking, cooking, celebrating, homemaking, and living into just a month or so. It can be exhausting and wonderful all at once.

Even TV takes a break… all of the sudden the new episodes of favorite shows that we’ve enjoyed for the past couple of months seem to just dry up! Sure, there may be a few holiday specials… but other than that - nothing. People are too busy visiting, shopping, baking, cooking, going to parties, wrapping presents and decorating the tree.

It’s amazing when you take a moment to step back and watch nearly everyone seem to just slow down and speed up all at the same time, and we all just go with it.

I confess, it’s no different at our house. The decorations go up with an almost ritualistic precision every Thanksgiving weekend. The next weekend we buy the tree and decorate it - right on schedule. We attend the company Christmas party and do a late night stop at Toys R Us.

Christmas Eve is really down to a comfortable pace. My husband and I have been together for so long now that we instinctively know our spots and slip into them easily. We go to my mom’s, we come home late (usually driving through the fog), we put the kids to bed and put the turkey in the oven. When we are sure the kids are asleep… we sneak around with childish glee putting the finishing touches on Christmas morning. We finally crawl into bed never earlier than 2am - and the kids wake us up never later than 6am.

By the end of the day people have come in and out, the space under the tree is bare, a large garbage sack is filled with wrapping paper and the occasional essential part to that new toy that I swear I’ve told one of the kids a dozen times - NOT to pull out of the box just yet.

When everyone has gone home the house seems terribly empty and begins to feel like the aging Ghost of Christmas Present from a Christmas Carol. Remember, at the end of his time with Scrooge how he began to grow frail and age? It’s almost as if for just a moment, I can feel him there in the room, slipping away.

It’s usually about that time that it all seems very overwhelming. It’s amazing to see all the things that have happened over the past year and wonder about everything to come in the next.
The older I get the faster the year seems to fly by. I am beginning to realize how quickly it all goes and wish that I had appreciated more before it went.

What is it about this time of year that brings about so much looking back and looking in?

It’s hard for me to imagine anyone not knowing what a fog delay is, but just in case…

During this time of year (November to February) we get fog in the mornings. Really bad fog sometimes. Driving in the fog can be pretty hairy and sometimes downright dangerous, therefore, school districts will call for a “fog delay” which means school starts 2 to 3 hours later than usual.

99% of the schools had a fog delay today. Our district had a 3 hour delay, which is nice. Everyone hangs around in their PJs. We watched the Today show because we love Matt, Katie, Al and Ann. And, apparently, we aren’t afraid to admit it. Although, if we ever traveled to New York you would NOT find us outside screaming or holding signs while Al did the weather… just in case you were wondering.

Anyway, a three hour delay means school starts at 10:55am for Ethan and 11:10am for Kate. Which isn’t so bad… until you realize that Ethan only gets 30 minutes for lunch. Which isn’t even that bad either. Where they get you in the beeehind is when you find out that the kids don’t get OUT of school until 3pm and 3:30pm. And, as silly as it may sound - that extra 30 minutes is a killer for some of us.

Ok, maybe just me.

I like clean, neat endings. I can’t stand loose ends. I hate waiting. I dislike feeling like I am in limbo. I don’t care for “in between” stages. It’s like that second trimester of pregnancy… you are in the middle, the excitement of the initial announcement is over and yet it’s not quite time to set up the crib and the nursery.

Such is my life at the moment. My husband has finished his classes, passed his state exam and has a job waiting on him. We are very blessed. No doubt about it. But, we are in a holding pattern. Waiting on the first week of December to begin the next stage of our life.

In the meantime, we’ll write out the grocery lists for Thanksgiving, continue Christmas shopping, and, oh yes, shop for a new car.

Car shopping with my husband… there are few things worse. Perhaps a root canal, a gynecological exam, or wait, childbirth… nope, you can get an epidural for that. Ok, so there are only a couple of things that are worse.

On the one hand, I should feel grateful to be able to go out and get a new vehicle for the family. And, I am. Really. But, on the other hand, the way my husband shops makes it impossible for anyone of the female persuasion to actively get involved.

Why?

Most women shop with their hearts first. We do… I think safety, appearance, features, price… in that order. My husband thinks price, engine, features, safety, appearance… in just about that order. I just can’t really devote myself to this process because about the time I find something I really like, he’s off to look for a better deal somewhere else. I know, I know, this is shrewd, it’s good bargaining, and you have to be willing to walk away, in other words, because of him we’ll probably save a lot of money. Great.

Our last car took him 4 weeks to buy. He found every available vehicle in that make, model, price range that he wanted and TEST DROVE every single one of them. This was a list of over 25 cars.

We bought the second to LAST one he test drove. Oh yes… even AFTER he found the one he wanted, he FINISHED up his list and test drove the very last one too. By the time we got the car, I didn’t want to have anymore to do with it.

So, here we are at the holiday season with three busy kids, Christmas shopping to do, and Thanksgiving pies to bake and we are on the great car search.

Wish me luck…

I signed up on Feedburner (www.feedburner.com) and it’s pretty nifty. I added their animated blog feed link to my email signature. It flashes my latest blog headlines, which currently look slightly dim-witted. One more thing to think about…

Also signed up for imood (www.imood.com) another nifty blog add-on. It’s fun. Although, I don’t know how I’ll update it very often. Sometimes it’s hard enough finding time to add to this blog.

Life is busy, I shouldn’t complain, the alternative is… well… you know. ;o)

Halloween just didn’t seem the same this year. I guess I never really took in to account that the boys wouldn’t be trick-or-treating this year. I know I knew it - but I just didn’t let it register.

We dressed Maggie up in her little Lady Bug costume. Katie dressed up as a 1960’s “Barbie Queen Of the Prom” and it wasn’t until we prepared to troop out into the chilly autumn night that I realized the boys weren’t dressed up.

The boys. They’ll always be referred to as “the boys” no matter how old they get. At 13, both Ethan (my son) and Garett (my brother) are my height. They are in seventh grade now and have put all the trick-or-treating stuff behind them.

We put the dogs on their leashes, put Maggie into her new back-pack and put the backpack on my husband’s back. I watched her little antennas bob up and down as they started down the front walk.

We went through the first couple of blocks and watched as Kate, our lone trick-or-treater marched up to each door as we watched from the sidewalk. She seemed much smaller than she did in the daylight. It was just last year that she was finally able to keep up with the boys and we didn’t have to hear, “Hey WAIT UP!!!” as they ran up the driveways.

It was a quiet Halloween. Girls don’t stomp up driveways when they are wearing pretty prom dresses. They don’t stomp up driveways any other time either though. She didn’t have anyone to compare loot bags with… but she trooped on diligently. Next year, Maggie should be able to join her, but that will be a different dynamic as well.

We’ve closed another chapter and fortunately, have opened a new one.