Tis the season!

I'm not sure what it is about the holidays this year...  but I've really been in the holiday spirit these days.

Maybe it's because it hasn't been so bitterly cold this year, leaving me with a smile on my face rather than a grimmace and hunched up shoulders, scurrying to get inside before my tears freeze to my cheeks.

Maybe it's because I feel so relaxed and less stressed about buying gifts... as we've added a few more adults to our non-gifting tradition and are only providing gift-wrapped joy to the wee ones.

Certainly it isn't the lack of snow, because that is something I do miss. I know. Wierd, right? First I don't mind birds, then I am missing snow. It's not so much that I miss playing in it, because I don't do that. Nor do I miss driving in it, because I pretty much ban myself from the road when the flurries fly. I guess I just miss the white, pristine beauty of an early morning snowfall, the trees covered in little white flecks.

Am I going through a mid-life crisis or something? Well I did just book a trip to Mexico, so it's possible.

I could be in the holiday spirit because we have an elf named Fred living with us. I finally put up Christmas lights in the house. And I got my Christmas cards out before New Year's.  Or, maybe it's because I feel like I am in better shape than I've ever been. I don't have cancer (though my love-hate relationship with WebMd makes me think otherwise. Seriously, I need a restraining order.). And I have just finished the Hunger Games series, making me oh-so-thankful I don't live in District 12.

I also have the most amazing little smiles that greet me every day with hugs and sloppy kisses, new craft projects oozing with glitter and half-dried ribbon, and little giggles and squeals of joy that honestly make me want to cry they are so cute. My husband is just as charming, argumentative, and loving as he was when I first met him. My family is all healthy and well this holiday season and my friends are experiencing the joys of new babies, new love, and new adventures.

I couldn't ask for anything more.

Yes, 'tis the season!