Seasonal Push

Do I need anything else to push the year along, to remind me how rapidly time is advancing, as the seasons come faster and faster?

Go into any store in August and what do you see?  Preparations for Halloween!  I mean, really, if you buy candy in August, does it really last all the way to the end of October?  Well, I mean, I'm not really talking about it going bad (although for some treats that may be possible), I'm talking about it winding up digested by someone other than trick-or-treaters.

"Honey, we have to buy more candy!"

"Why?  I thought we bought plenty!"

"Ummm...yeah.  Some of it may have.....gotten lost."

On social media, people are excitedly talking about costumes from August on.  I usually think about what I will wear about an hour before the event.  My go too?  Put on my Detroit Tiger cap, and a Hawaiian shirt, and presto!  I'm Tom Selleck, Magnum P.I.!

In the last week before Halloween, you can sense the stores wanting to push the Halloween merchandise out.  The store spaces contract, discounts accelerate, and you see something else slowly but surely filling the shelf space.

Christmas.

Yes, we jump right past Thanksgiving and dive headfirst into Christmas.  Thanksgiving is merely a shopping traffic light, a final gateway, into the all-devouring madness of the commercial Christmas season. Gone is the quaint celebration of family, the open table of tolerance, the thankfulness for all the good things we have.    Now it's just preparation for the opening bell to the most selfish American ritual of all - Black Friday, and the horrendous rush to compete and grab the best bargains.

This, until Christmas Eve, is the commercial aspect of Christmas.  It has little to do with the true spirit of Christmas. That spirit has more to do with striving for peace on Earth and goodwill towards all, for celebrating the birth of a savior who came to light the way for every single one of us.

And it has little to do with intimidating people to say Merry Christmas.  If the words don't come voluntarily, they mean nothing at all.  I don't think store clerks should be necessarily forced to say it or not say it.  We all need to chill out and let everyone say the seasonal greeting they want to, and return in kind with whatever seasonal greeting we want to it. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me the best thing to do is to be open, kind, and tolerant.

Right after Christmas, there is a brief flurry of sales, and the Big Returns, as we exchange all those gifts that people spent so much time selecting for us.

But right after that?  There is no rest.  There is no respite.  The seasons get merrily pushed along.  The stores are draped heavily in the accents of Valentines Day.

And once again, I cope with the dilemma of candy purchased too darn early.

So, let me speedily rush through it.  Hope you had a great Halloween, don't forget to wave at Thanksgiving as we roar past it, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas. Happy New Year, and it's not too early to start thinking about what you want to do for Valentine's Day!

Gee whiz!  What I need is a "Sit on the Porch and Enjoy the Cool Weather Day!"