There may be Christmas weather headed our way today, here in NYC. I guess the weather gods got the month wrong – it’s still November, guys! I’ve seen a lot of different forecasts of how much snow the area may or may not get (and since I’m writing this Tuesday night, it all may have changed by the time this goes up), but I think we can agree we’re glad we don’t live in Buffalo. Sorry, Buffalo friends – I love snow, but last week sounded hellish.

But despite the precipitation, it’s Thanksgiving we’re celebrating this week. Just like last year, I have a lot to be thankful for – family, friends, a great job, a great apartment, good health, and a year that included both cross country and transatlantic travel. In the wider world it has often been a difficult year – this week is no exception – and it makes me that much more grateful for my own blessings.

The older I get, the faster the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s seems to go. Lots of people complain when holiday decorations start as early as the day after Halloween, but I like it. When I was a kid and in a production of A Christmas Carol for several years, our rehearsals always started right around Halloween. That was the beginning of the season for me.  Now I try to stretch it in little ways, like putting my Christmas tree up early so I get to enjoy it for longer, and playing lots of Christmas music.

When I’m home with my family this weekend, we’ll go and pick out a tree, too, and decorate it. The decorations went up at my office this week. They’re all just trappings, but in the midst of the cold and ice that is about descend here for the next several months, the lights and the greenery and the candles remind me of warmth and family and friendship. I may roll my eyes about the inflatable snowmen and Santas I’m sure to see in my family’s suburban neighborhood, but it all comes from a place of gratitude and joy.

Well, probably.

I hope wherever you are that you’re able to spend time this week with people you care about! And I hope your planes and trains and buses and cars experience perfect travel conditions and no delays.

Happy Thanksgiving, and see you in December!