I love this time of year

I am one of those end-of-the-year junkies who loves, Loves, LOVES the time between Nov. 1 and Jan. 2.  This was even true back in the days of working at B&N.  Some folks working retail do not enjoy the chaos that envelopes stores these last two months of the year, but I thrived on it.  I looked forward to it.  It was like a triple shot of espresso every time I clocked in.  I loved the phones ringing off the hook, the lines of customers following me through the store as I fielded questions left and right and deposited them at the location of their answer.  I enjoyed the playlist that the music department played, especially the Christmas album with the Muppets and John Denver.  That one was pretty awesome.  I even enjoyed it when the parking lot got covered with enough snow that people didn't have any clue on how to park, and it turned into a terrifying exercise in navigation.  The Christmas season was the only time of year that I actually bought into Big Corporation's goals, and I eagerly looked forward to finding out how much business our store did on each Saturday in December.  I felt it was a badge of honor - "Yeah, I survived that much business on Saturday. Gold star for me."

I don't get to enjoy the same rush of the season now that I'm out of the retail game, but I do have enough other holiday activities to make up for some of the adrenalin loss.  For example, this year I was able to covertly sneak back to Minneapolis to help my mom with our church's annual Holiday Boutique.  I purposefully didn't tell any of my friends that I was going to be in Minnesota for almost a week.  I knew that almost all of my time on this trip would be devoted to helping my mom, and I didn't want to feel bad for saying no to people who might have wanted to hang out.  The Boutique is a large undertaking and my mom was going to be a little short handed this year in terms of help.  (The number of church members is dwindling and the existing members are aging.)  I was happy to be home for a few days, feeling like I was contributing. Often times I feel like I don't carry my weight in my family.  I'm not home to help out my sister or Grandma, I'm not there to babysit my nephews.  It felt good to help out my Mom, and have her, my sister and I working like a well-oiled machine at the Boutique.  I'm happy to report that this was the church's most profitable Boutique ever.

This time of year also brings holiday music on the radio and Christmas lights through the neighborhood.  This is our second year celebrating Christmas in San Diego, but last year we were still living in a (mostly) empty house in military housing.  There were no decorations, no lights, no tree.  This year I am sublimely happy.  The house is cozy, the tree is up and adorned.  We have stockings hanging by the fireplace.  I've got a list of cookies and candies that I'm going to undertake for the first time this year (I'm looking at you krumkake) and my freezer and fridge are stocked with voluminous amounts of butter.  I believe I have all the flours, sugars and extracts that I will be needing, so on any given day this week you will probably find me elbow deep in pantry staples as I make holiday magic happen in the kitchen while being serenaded by Bing, Perry and Nat. It is the most wonderful time of the year.