I heard someone say this morning that there are 47 days until Christmas. How can that even be possible? Maybe it’s me, but I just don’t want to get caught up in it all this year. All the cultural trappings feel like such a distraction for some reason. I don’t like walking into Walmart or Lowe’s or Publix and seeing all the Christmas stuff front and center. I especially didn’t like it before Halloween was even over.

First of all, I love Thanksgiving and it’s still almost three weeks away. Can’t we just celebrate it first before we’re having to think Christmas thoughts. Thanksgiving is my favorite family holiday. No gifts, no pressure, no decorating. Just good food with family and friends and fellowship and full tummies and no agenda. There’s no Thanksgiving Eve service to go to, no office gift exchange or party, and no Cornucopia to get up and decorated by a certain time.  Thanksgiving feels simple and certain and good.

Christmas, on the other hand, feels like pressure and decorating and shopping and parties and gift exchanges and money spent on stuff that people don’t really need. Is it just me? As I write this I realize how bah humbug I sound. I don’t want to be Scrooge, but I guess I am a little bit. When the girls were little, Christmas felt magical and fun because we got to surprise them and I loved seeing there little faces light up when they opened something they really wanted. Except for the one year we did a scavenger hunt and little Caroline thought she was getting a pony, that turned out to be a bike. That face wasn’t lit up at all.

Now they’re all grown ups. Some won’t be here for Christmas. It’ll feel kind of sad on Christmas Day when they’re not all in the house, lined up by birth order, waiting to come down the steps to see what Santa brought. I know, i’ts not about Santa.

This year I want to focus first on celebrating Thanksgiving, where all our girls will be here. Along with literally all of our extended family and some dear friends. We may have 25-30 for Thanksgiving Dinner, which thrills me. I cannot wait for them all to be in the house, under my roof, together. We’ll eat some delicious food. Hopefully it won’t be raining and the cousins can play outside and enjoy doing outside things. And we’ll be thankful that we’re together yet another year, because next year is no guarantee.

Christmas will have to wait. I’ll get there eventually. After Thanksgiving.