Personally, I love November. I'm learning as a native Virginian that I enjoy the cold weather less and less. I'm reminded as soon as the cold, bitter air hits my face that I don't enjoy that part of this time of year. Annually, I give my don't-like-the-cold chuckle to whoever will entertain me. "Why do I choose to live here, again?" Maybe it's getting harder, the older I am getting. I'm not up for exploring that one any further.
Besides my objection to the cold weather, the entrance of fall brings Thanksgiving, and my personal favorite-Christmas. I am, for sure, a holiday person. I love the opportunity to really enjoy my family, outside of the constant hustle and bustle that makes up our busy lives, year round. It's cliche, but I really do take the days off and the family time, at this time of year, personally.
This Thanksgiving, we will be home again, cooking up a feast for way more people that are actually going to ring my bell. I'm looking forward to days off from work, spending time with the kids and The Hub, seeing some extended family members that I don't see near enough of, and more. Black Friday shopping, anyone? This Thanksgiving an additional super-exciting treat of a Turkey Trot is included. I'm bursting with excitement at the thought of my sister and I running this 5k together.
November is going to be tremendous. It already has been, and it's barely mid-month. Being the person of faith that I am, I constantly find myself looking for ways to encourage others. I usually use my Facebook status updates as an opportunity to share wisdom. Sometimes it's my own good stuff, often it's something my Pastor has shared in his preaching. Finding these days of thanksgiving posts on my Facebook news feed got me thinking about how we as a society take one collective deep breath around Thanksgiving. We're nicer people, we are statistically more giving, and we look for more ways to be positive towards others. It's that generous spirit that comes upon us like a warm and fluffy coat. You know the one. That special coat that feels like a big, soft hug. We seem to violently shake our arms right out of that coat somewhere around January.
I wonder what happens that makes us want to take that jacket off. Getting too warm under there, perhaps? All of a sudden, the extended niceness feels stuffy. Maybe like everything else, it's hard for things to stay the same. Maybe we can't learn how to be thankful all year round. But...just maybe we can. Wouldn't you say it's a conscious choice? If we choose to take that coat-of-thanks off somewhere around January, it's a choice, no? We start to see the let down after Christmas has passed. We no longer feel generous and kind. We feel broke, spent and in debt. We see the New Year resolutions falter. It's still cold outside. And we are back into the daily grind of things. Somehow the things to complain about outweigh the things we have to be thankful for. Or so we think. This year, I would love to see the month-of-thanks posts in February...or April; some random month like that. Let's be random this year. Let's stretch November clear into June. Challenge yourself to be different. Be the change you want to see. After all, just like a good ole' cold, goodness is seriously contagious.
