Homesickness

Well, Halloween was a bust. I ended up with the same costume as last year, and decided Abe and I should share since he was feeling left out. Alas, together we made one grand bumble bee. He wore the antennas and wings and I wore the striped leotard with a yellow tutu. We still have a huge orange bucket of candy for all the kids who didn't show up. It is sitting in the laundry room in hopes that I will be less tempted to eat it, but I still find myself sneaking a piece all too often. I always wonder what drives me to even wander in the direction of the giant orange tub of doom- none of the contents are good for me and I don't even really like any of it anyway, what a waste of empty calories.
Halloween has always been the official welcoming of fall, which happens to be my favorite season. This has so far been the best fall weather in Portland since moving here five years ago. Today is gorgeous. The sun is out. The leaves are swaying in the crisp air, dancing on their descent to the damp ground. The fabulous flavors of fall are available everywhere- pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cranberry and more tempt consumers at every corner. Everyone is preparing for the looming holiday season which begins in only 14 days. That is right, Thanksgiving is 2 weeks from today, then you will blink your eyes and Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years celebrations will be in full effect.
Thanksgiving used to be one of the biggest celebrations at our house, then I moved away to college and everything seemed to change. Thanksgiving is all about family for me, and I am never able to share it with them anymore. I have been ever so homesick lately. I miss my family more and more the closer the holidays get. I don't necessarily miss home in the sense of my hometown or even Colorado so much. It's my brother Chris's giggle echoing around the corner signaling trouble is on it's way. It's my mom's face full of delight when we are all together again laughing around the dinner table. It's my dad's hand on my shoulder as we grill dinner up on the barbie, beer in hand. It's my brother Tom's look of disdain as my cat jumps in his lap and the very same growl I let out from time to time escapes out the corners of his mouth. I am so lucky to have them. They say you can't choose your family, but I sure would have hand picked mine if given the opportunity- and that is not something very many people can say.