Hallmark put up their Christmas ornament display a month ago.
I started seeing Christmas decorations in stores this weekend.
The local watering hole by work has a winter display in the entry.
There are Christmas ads on TV (and yes, I know, I could get a DVR and skip the ads. Not going to happen.)
The crazy women in accounting at work are already vying for bragging rights as to who will be done with her Christmas shopping first.
And I saw not one but two houses with outside Christmas trees lit on my drive home from work tonight.
IT'S ONLY THE SECOND OF NOVEMBER PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!
When I was a kid, not only did we walk to school barefoot, in the snow, 10 miles uphill both ways, but Christmas season didn't start until AFTER Thanksgiving. I remember going to the mall on Veteran's Day one year (we always had it off from school) and being surprised that they were actually starting to put up the Christmas trees in the center, a week before Thanksgiving. Veteran's Day is a week and a half from now. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but not two whole months of it.
Christmas is special. It is the celebration of the birth of Christ, if that is what you believe in (I do). It is a time to spend with family and close friends, a time to reflect on the previous year and prepare for the new one coming, a chance to take a break, however small, from the ordinary, hum-drum, every day life. But Christmas becomes not special if the "season" lasts from November 1st until New Year's. That's 2 months, a sixth of the year. After that much time in our faces, Christmas becomes just another part of the ordinary, hum-drum, every day life.
I don't have a solution, other than trying to unplug somewhat from the media and retail hiveminds that seem to be a big part of American society these days. And that's not really a workable solution for me, either. As I mentioned above, I don't have, and do not have any intention of getting, a DVR, so I watch TV live and endure commercials. I can't just not shop between now and Thanksgiving, so I'm going to see decorations and trees and probably hear Christmas music in stores. But I can, and will, keep my home Christmas-free until after Thanksgiving.
Hiking exploits, experimental cooking, general nerdery, and cat pictures.
Seriously. Do not call me Katy.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
In Which Many Drinks Are Had...
...And Kate fails to kick the French boy out.
Ahem.
Shit shit shit shit shit.
I did not do anything with him. Did not even kiss him. But did spend all night curled up next to him while he played with my hair. Which is quite possibly more dangerous. But, he also didn't try anything, so I'm not sure what's up with that.
Sigh. He is hot. I am conflicted.
Ahem.
Shit shit shit shit shit.
I did not do anything with him. Did not even kiss him. But did spend all night curled up next to him while he played with my hair. Which is quite possibly more dangerous. But, he also didn't try anything, so I'm not sure what's up with that.
Sigh. He is hot. I am conflicted.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Things I Want To Do This Summer
The solstice is around the corner and I love lists. Here we go.
-Run a 5k in July
-Run a 10k in August
-Zen out in front of the chiminea at least once a week
-Eat tapas and drink sangria on Newbury St on a hot, humid evening
-Plan the watersports/camping trip
-But don't stress about it
-Hike more - locally, regionally, on vacation, and in my backyard (metaphorically)
-Do something inappropriate, just once
-Don't regret it
-Sit in the sun with trashy books and some wine
-Be more spontaneous, which I already acknowledge may be difficult, as I have the next 5 weekends already planned out
-Meditate before bed
-Finish one of the mundane house projects
-Skydive. I may not be willing to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but I am willing to jump INTO a perfectly good vertical wind tunnel
-Be purposeful in my eating for a change
-Buy a case of wine
-Have a reason to open the bottle of French champagne. It is being saved to celebrate a specific goal, go achieve it!
-Run a 5k in July
-Run a 10k in August
-Zen out in front of the chiminea at least once a week
-Eat tapas and drink sangria on Newbury St on a hot, humid evening
-Plan the watersports/camping trip
-But don't stress about it
-Hike more - locally, regionally, on vacation, and in my backyard (metaphorically)
-Do something inappropriate, just once
-Don't regret it
-Sit in the sun with trashy books and some wine
-Be more spontaneous, which I already acknowledge may be difficult, as I have the next 5 weekends already planned out
-Meditate before bed
-Finish one of the mundane house projects
-Skydive. I may not be willing to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but I am willing to jump INTO a perfectly good vertical wind tunnel
-Be purposeful in my eating for a change
-Buy a case of wine
-Have a reason to open the bottle of French champagne. It is being saved to celebrate a specific goal, go achieve it!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Notes from the Great White North
Dear Canada,
Your money sucks, eh. It is about 2 millimetres too tall to fit in my zippered wallet without getting stuck in the zipper.
Dear Toronto,
Your traffic sucks also, eh. It should not have taken me over an hour to go 20 km. Was it really necessary to shut down all lanes, both directions of the Gardiner for the whole weekend? Your secondary streets are not designed to handle that amount of traffic.
Dear Blue Jays,
Thank you for winning!
Dear Boston Sports Teams,
Take note and stop sucking.
Dear Canadians,
I LOVE YOUR ACCENTS!
Dear Montreal Canadiens,
Good luck and please win. Someone needs to take out the Flyers, and I'd love to see a team from Canada in the Stanley Cup.
Dear Jack Astors,
I forgot how much I love you and your cheesy garlic panbread.
Dear R & K,
Congratulations and thank you so much for inviting me to your wedding! I had a great time, you guys both looked fantastic, and I hope you have a blast on your honeymoon.
Love, Kate
Your money sucks, eh. It is about 2 millimetres too tall to fit in my zippered wallet without getting stuck in the zipper.
Dear Toronto,
Your traffic sucks also, eh. It should not have taken me over an hour to go 20 km. Was it really necessary to shut down all lanes, both directions of the Gardiner for the whole weekend? Your secondary streets are not designed to handle that amount of traffic.
Dear Blue Jays,
Thank you for winning!
Dear Boston Sports Teams,
Take note and stop sucking.
Dear Canadians,
I LOVE YOUR ACCENTS!
Dear Montreal Canadiens,
Good luck and please win. Someone needs to take out the Flyers, and I'd love to see a team from Canada in the Stanley Cup.
Dear Jack Astors,
I forgot how much I love you and your cheesy garlic panbread.
Dear R & K,
Congratulations and thank you so much for inviting me to your wedding! I had a great time, you guys both looked fantastic, and I hope you have a blast on your honeymoon.
Love, Kate
Friday, April 9, 2010
Homecoming
About a month ago, I made a whirlwind, 22-hour trip to Maryland for work. I complained well and mightily about my time in the Philadelphia airport on Facebook at the time, but I never mentioned what I saw at the Manchester airport first.
As I sat waiting for my flight, I noticed two little boys, maybe around ages 4 and 6, hanging around my gate. They had various adult-type people with them, including one woman with a camera around her neck. I thought "oh cute, it must be their first flight and mom's taking pictures of them waiting for the plane" and went back to my book. Looked up again a couple of minutes later and noticed the boys had 1) posterboard signs with them and 2) American flags in their hands. About then the inbound plane arrived at the gate, all the adult-type people clustered around the boys, and it occurred to me that I was about to see a reuniting family.
As the inbound passengers started coming off the plane and the family members rearranged themselves, several things happened in quick succession. I realized that the woman with the camera probably wasn't mom, but an aunt/sister type. It was pretty clear another woman standing next to the boys was mom. Dad came off the plane and immediately dropped to a knee and swept the two little boys into a bear hug. Dad stood up, mom turned towards him, and before they embraced I noticed she's wearing a baby in a Snuggli - likely a girl judging by all the pink. The baby looked about 4 months old. The family definitely looks like dad's been gone longer than 4 months. Which means it is entirely possible that this is the first time dad is meeting his daughter. I have no idea what happened after that, because I grabbed my carry-on and headed to the restroom to take care of whatever had gotten into my eyes to make them all teary.
Now I was raised to possess a relatively healthy level of social manners and mores - in other words, I try not to openly stare at people in public and generally try to give strangers their privacy. At the same time, I have a soft spot for members of the military, and especially for military families. So yes, I watched, even though it was none of my business. I tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, and I'm sure the family in question didn't even notice me - they had much more important things on their minds. I'm not sure what my fellow waiting passengers thought about the businesswoman in their midst who was openly staring at strangers, tearing up, and then running to the bathroom to cry in private. I'm also pretty sure I don't care what any of them thought either!
Now, a month later as I write this, something else has occurred to me. I was sitting at my gate, watching all of this unfold. The inbound plane the dad came in on was the same plane on which I was outbound. In other words, I was past security - as were these 3-4 adults and 3 kids. I don't think they were meeting at the airport and flying on together to somewhere else - none of the waiting family had any carry-on type things with them. I don't know if my local airport routinely lets military families through security to meet homecoming service members, if this was a special circumstance, if the family had bought tickets they had no plans of using just to get through security (last one seems pretty unlikely). In retrospect, it has been years since I've seen a gate-side welcome home, and it's probably unlikely I'll see one again. I'm glad I saw this one.
As I sat waiting for my flight, I noticed two little boys, maybe around ages 4 and 6, hanging around my gate. They had various adult-type people with them, including one woman with a camera around her neck. I thought "oh cute, it must be their first flight and mom's taking pictures of them waiting for the plane" and went back to my book. Looked up again a couple of minutes later and noticed the boys had 1) posterboard signs with them and 2) American flags in their hands. About then the inbound plane arrived at the gate, all the adult-type people clustered around the boys, and it occurred to me that I was about to see a reuniting family.
As the inbound passengers started coming off the plane and the family members rearranged themselves, several things happened in quick succession. I realized that the woman with the camera probably wasn't mom, but an aunt/sister type. It was pretty clear another woman standing next to the boys was mom. Dad came off the plane and immediately dropped to a knee and swept the two little boys into a bear hug. Dad stood up, mom turned towards him, and before they embraced I noticed she's wearing a baby in a Snuggli - likely a girl judging by all the pink. The baby looked about 4 months old. The family definitely looks like dad's been gone longer than 4 months. Which means it is entirely possible that this is the first time dad is meeting his daughter. I have no idea what happened after that, because I grabbed my carry-on and headed to the restroom to take care of whatever had gotten into my eyes to make them all teary.
Now I was raised to possess a relatively healthy level of social manners and mores - in other words, I try not to openly stare at people in public and generally try to give strangers their privacy. At the same time, I have a soft spot for members of the military, and especially for military families. So yes, I watched, even though it was none of my business. I tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, and I'm sure the family in question didn't even notice me - they had much more important things on their minds. I'm not sure what my fellow waiting passengers thought about the businesswoman in their midst who was openly staring at strangers, tearing up, and then running to the bathroom to cry in private. I'm also pretty sure I don't care what any of them thought either!
Now, a month later as I write this, something else has occurred to me. I was sitting at my gate, watching all of this unfold. The inbound plane the dad came in on was the same plane on which I was outbound. In other words, I was past security - as were these 3-4 adults and 3 kids. I don't think they were meeting at the airport and flying on together to somewhere else - none of the waiting family had any carry-on type things with them. I don't know if my local airport routinely lets military families through security to meet homecoming service members, if this was a special circumstance, if the family had bought tickets they had no plans of using just to get through security (last one seems pretty unlikely). In retrospect, it has been years since I've seen a gate-side welcome home, and it's probably unlikely I'll see one again. I'm glad I saw this one.
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