Yes, I’m one of those people. I love this holiday season. I always tell people that Summer is my favorite time of year, but I think I’ve been lying to them (and to myself) for a long time. I love watching the leaves change colors and I love the strange, hazy color in the sky on cold mornings. I’ve been counting down to Thanksgiving for more than a month. There is almost nothing that can make me sad in the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s a huge statement for a veterinary student considering that final exams fall in that time period. What can I say?
I’m truly one of those people. Walking into a store in mid-November to the tune of “Jingle Bells” or “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” makes me smile instead of scoff and exclaim that there is more than a month until Christmas. I think Christmas music is what gets me through final exams. I used to wait until Thanksgiving Day to break out the Christmas spirit, but lately I’ve only been waiting until the 15th of November. I might try and hold out until the 20th just so I am not subject to so much ridicule. We’ll see how it goes.
My grandmother loved Christmas, too. It must have rubbed off on me. I remember standing on a kitchen chair in front of the counter helping to mix and decorate 5+ different cookie recipes each year. She taught me how to make bread when I was old enough to stand on the chair without constant supervision (safety first, you know). My grandma also volunteered every year at the mall wrapping gifts with her church group. She wrapped the most beautiful presents. To this day, I have no idea how she got every corner to lay so perfectly flat, how she lined up the pattern seamlessly, and how she always managed to hide the tape from view (no, it wasn’t double-stick). She could also tie just about any sort of bow. Forget those stick on present-toppers from the store. My grandma could tie satin ribbon into art.
I think all of the holiday preparation is most of what makes the holiday season so special to me. I am the main baker in the family now, and I have to choose the dessert recipes and I have to make the bread myself. I’m actually in the process of choosing a recipe to make for the Captain’s family dinner on Thanksgiving. I already received the seal of approval from his grandmothers on my pie crust, so I’ve been experimenting a bit since then. I made banana cream pie, coconut cream pie, some sort of pecan pie (I don’t remember that exact recipe), rum-raisin apple pie, carrot cake (my signature dish these days) and a whipped-cream filled pumpkin roll cake with pecans and a caramel topping. This year, I’m leaning toward pumpkin pound cake. It is Thanksgiving, after all.
The icing on the proverbial cake is the fact that I get to see the Captain 1 week from today. My oldest cousin is getting married and this is the first wedding in my immediate family. My family is rather small to begin with and so my definition of “immediate” family is a little looser than most. In any case, it should be a really fun time. And it’ll be a great way to kick off the holiday season.
That said, I have to get a good amount of studying done this weekend to get a jump on my upcoming exams. I don’t want to be worrying about bacteriology while I’m at my cousin’s wedding. That just wouldn’t be festive. 
I can’t wait!
