The "Over the River and Through the Woods" Season

It dawned on me this evening while I was taking the pooch for a walk that we have once again come to the time of year when we all start going "over the river and through the woods" to houses of all different kinds of relatives and friends.

And, although I'm not really ready for that time of year to be upon me, I have to admit that I love that it's almost here.

I love that two out of the three big holidays that come up in the next 6 or 7 weeks have nothing to do with anything other than being together. Sure, Thanksgiving is also a day for stuffing yourself with food, but mainly it's about being together. And New Year's Eve is supposedly about toasting in the new year, but it's really about being with people to enjoy and reflect, too.

Christmas... well... as much as it's about getting together with family and friends there can - at times - also cause stress and anxiety because of the forced joyfulness of it. And there's the gift giving which can be difficult for some people. And the day is mythic in the amount of pressure that is built into it. Which is probably why I like Advent (those 4 weeks before Christmas which each get their own candle on the wreath) better than the day, itself. But that's a whole different blog post.

I've started seeing the "home for the holidays" commercials showing up on TV. Part of me wants to be frustrated that they're already on, but with Thanksgiving next week, I'm willing to give some latitude. Especially since some of them are really well done. After all, everyone wants to have the next great Folger's "Peter Comes Home" commercial. (Oh, go ahead. Watch it again and get misty-eyed. It's okay.)

Here's to the season of reflection and reconnection. After all, ready or not, here it comes - over the river and through the woods.