'Tis The Season

Here are some random thoughts about the current winter/holiday season in no particular order...

If it weren't for various blogs that I read talking about Christmas plans and trees and gifts and all that fun stuff, I would not have even realized that Christmas is this week! There are no Christmas songs being played on the radio, no lights up in store windows and certainly no sign of any snow on the ground. While I truly love living in the Jewish homeland and I love that so much emphasis is placed on Chanukah, I can't help but miss a little bit of the Christmas spirit. I even a little tiny bit miss not being able to get "Feliz Navidad" out of my head after hearing it on the radio a million times a day.

********************

I've been feeling a little nostalgic for all things winter-y after seeing so many pictures posted on Facebook from the big snowstorm that the Northeast US had last weekend. I always loved waking up the morning after it had been snowing all night to see how pretty and silent everything looked. There is nothing quite like being the first person to make tracks in the freshly fallen snow. I'm sad that my kids aren't getting to experience the joys of a snow day...an unexpected day off from school where there is nothing to do but make snowmen and snow angels and then come inside with dripping noses and freezing cold hands and drink hot chocolate. I remember the first time Big went out in the snow and really enjoyed it. He was about 18 months old or so and it took him a little while to figure out how to walk in his boots because they were so heavy. I wonder what Little would do if he saw snow--he would have no clue what it was!

********************

The kids Chanukah vacation was last week and went by so quickly. My sister-in-law and 2 of her kids were here which was SO amazing. It seems that cousins, even if they don't see each other all that often, have some sort of innate bond that allows them to pick up where they last left off and immediately be close. Although she didn't bring her son who is Big's age, I loved watching him play with his older cousin and his baby cousin (I guess she's not that much of a baby since she is 2 and acts like a teenager). Little and his little cousin are a match made in heaven. She is a bully when she wants to be and I think it was good for him to get back a little of what he gives!