Keep Christmas With You...

If you now have a sad Sesame Street Christmas song running through your head, you're welcome.

This was my #365grateful picture from yesterday, and I know that may be weird. I noticed my feelings on this when we went to a friend's house and they had their naked Christmas tree on the porch, ready to go away, and it made me happy to see it. It didn't make me sad, but happy. And then, when I saw these trees outside our apartment, leaning against the dumpsters, it still didn't make me sad. Perhaps that's just how much power Christmas & it's traditions have on me: even stripped of decoration and discarded, these trees have the power to make me smile. I love Christmas a lot, and it makes me sad that stores start the season artificially early, so that most people are ready to chuck it all out the door on the 26th. But the 12 Days of Christmas starts on Christmas. Today is Epiphany, when we celebrate the Magi bringing their gifts to baby (or possibly toddler) Jesus. I'm not ready for it to be over, but I'm not sad, either.

Baby, it's dark outside.

I'm a little torn about this daylight savings time stuff. First of all, I'm not up in the morning to enjoy that misplaced hour, so it saves me diddly-squat. Secondly, it cramps the running style, being that my neighborhood isn't all that hot in the safety arena.

On the other hand, it does feel a little cozy to be home and snuggle up with my man when it's dark out. And going out at night feels a little more special, like we're actually doing something, even if it's just going to the grocery store. The problem is that I'm much less likely to want to leave the house once I'm cozy and snuggly at home in the dark.

When we first moved here, I was so disappointed to find that it got dark early here in the winter. I thought, "No! It's sunny California!" Hopes were dashed and all that. I'm used to it now, and I'm ready for winter. Maybe it won't be 80 degrees soon.