It's NOT Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Picture it: Sunday, October 2, 2005. 4:00 PM. Macy's Department Store. Halloween and Thanksgiving are nowhere to be found. Christmas is taking over the section where swimsuits used to be, and passers-by walk by the trees in their shorts and flip-flops.

It was like 85 degrees outside. I just looked at the trees above and shook my head in disbelief.

I just don't get it. It seems each year, Christmas inches closer to Halloween, and now it actually tries to attack us as soon as the calendar says "First Day of Autumn."

When I was a kid, Christmas was so special because it seemed like it took forever to get here. But department stores are trying to make it Christmas in October. Quit rushing it!

I want to enjoy the holidays as they come. I love to eat too much chocolate for Halloween. I love to be with family on Thanksgiving and enjoy my mother's feast. I love to decorate my tree with only blue, silver and white ornaments AFTER Thanksgiving.

I will not be rushed. I will enjoy October. I will take time to enjoy the slow changes in the air. I will not even think of Christmas until I am forced to put my open-toed shoes away and build a fire in the fireplace and try to roast marshmallows in it. I won't think in terms of "winter" until I make my first cup of hot chocolate with two Hershey's Kisses and a dollop of Cool Whip Lite.

It's just the beginning of fall, and the leaves haven't even changed colors yet. When I see the real trees outside give me their cues, then I'll take note. No amount of fake trees in the mall will convince me it's winter.