Oh, the wilds of fall are upon us, and winter is not far behind. Just as I remembered it, fall is a delightful time of the year here. You can’t help but get excited about the coming of the holidays as the weather tells you in very clear terms that yes, it’s time for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
As an early holiday gift, I finally got around to looking up my benefits at work online. I couldn’t really use most of them for the first six months, so there was really no point in checking out how much unused vacation time I had or how much sick leave I accrued. In fact, I only looked because an e-mail rolled in from HR telling us all that we had to use our personal holiday before the end of the year – the old use or lose it thing.
I get a personal holiday. For free! And I get to use it during the holidays. How cool is that?
Just in time, too. As I was leaving work the other day, I couldn’t help but notice that the transformation of downtown is already in full swing. As I walked through Westlake on my way to the bus, decorating companies were putting the finishing touches to all the lights on the trees in the park. They were lit up all in white and red. With the blue trunks, I couldn’t really tell if it was Fourth of July or the coming of Christmas, but such is Seattle.
Yes, there is a nip in the air and true to any Seattle fall, it’s raining right now. I can’t complain. We had 80 straight nice days in the summer and only one or two with a drop of rain. A wet fall: I’m OK with that.
Back to the coming holidays. One can’t help but get into the spirit with all the decorations in a big city. Not that Seattle is really that big still. Drivers still let you in when you want to change lanes or pull out. Clerks for the most part are friendly and cars stop for you when you cross the street, even when you’re not really in a crosswalk.
All this lends itself so well to getting into the holiday spirit. So does the Macy’s star that they just added to the top of the building. It’s about eight stories tall and it’s part of the yearly ritual of lighting downtown where they turn everything on, people sing carols and then the fireworks begin off the building. There’s even a Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade downtown to kick everything off.
Oh sure, I could go to Leavenworth and watch the town light up. But I’ve been there and done that. Cute, but a little too touristy for me and it’s a pain in the ass getting up there and back down if Mother Nature decides to drop a little or a lot of snow. Besides, there’s only so much you can do in a teeny tourist town.
Besides, there’s something about the big city experience. I guess I’ve watched Miracle on 34th Street too many times. It just seems like the thing to do on the day after Thanksgiving.
While some of the stores downtown are already all dolled up, Nordstrom famously refuses to fall in line with the early Christmas rush. They even have signs on the sides of their buildings that proudly announce that they like their holidays one at a time and won’t be decorating the store until after Thanksgiving is over.
The Janmeister and I will be heading downtown on the day after Thanksgiving to get into the holiday spirit. I’ll write more about that in a coming RobZerrvation.
I admit, this is somewhat different for me. For the last eight years, I could have cared less about Thanksgiving or Christmas when I was in Florida. I guess the weather was just too warm. I never could swing into the mood.
But many of the trappings of the holiday didn’t follow me here, including the plastic Christmas tree. We will have a real one this year, just to enjoy the smell of a fresh cut pine that wasn’t trucked a thousand miles. Sure, I could have purchased a fir tree down in Florida, but they aren’t exactly indigenous. I guess I lost the desire when I saw a Winn Dixie advertise that they had “fur trees” for sale. I wonder if they shed.
We’ll see how the holiday spirit holds up over the coming weeks. I myself don’t touch Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Like Nordstrom, I’m a one holiday at a time kind of guy. I certainly can’t be like my next door neighbor. I admire his zeal, but his Christmas lights are already up on his house. I admit that I’ve already been tempted to one or three or four up him on the lighting, but I’m not sure it’s really worth it.
And since the kids are mostly grown, presents are gift cards not cool presents under the tree. The Janmeister and I have discussed buying each other gifts this year, but we pretty much have everything we want, so perhaps we’ll just do what I’ve always done and buy gifts for those who need a little Christmas joy far more than we do.
I will, however, make the trek back to Candy Cane Lane, shown above. And on the way, check out some of the Christmas lights that aren’t on my next door neighbor’s house. Oh, and maybe the Figgy Pudding contest downtown would be fun.
OK, I admit, I’m kind of back in the spirit of the season again. Yes, me, the curmudgeony guy you’ve come to know. I guess all the egg nog I’ve already tanked has affected me, putting a smile on my face and admittedly, a little more jiggle in my bowl full of jelly.
I guess it’s all part of the season. I have found that you can indeed go home for the holidays and perhaps rekindle that spirit that you once thought lost. Of course, a couple of hot buttered rums will help in that regard.
In the Emerald City, staying away from the Christmas music for another eight days,
– Robb