Christmastime

let me just say this right off the bat: Christmas is awesome. seriously. I love basically every single part of the season. I've heard a couple people recently saying that they just don't really care for Christmas, and it makes my heart hurt. no really, my poor heart curls into a little sad ball and says "Just go away. I can't... I can't bear it." and then it cries a little. it's very touching.

every year leading up to Christmas, my mom would get out our Advent calendar, and fill it with awesome things. and we don't have one of those wimpy little paper/cardboard contraptions with the shitty candy- oh no. we've got a big cloth number with deep pockets for every day of December up until the 24th. she'd hang it up in the hall at the bottom of the stairs, and each morning my sister and I would run downstairs from our rooms. then one of us (we'd trade off days) would solemnly and ceremoniously stick a hand into the pocket, and pull out whatever treat was hidden within. it was different every day. some days were chocolate days, some days were nail polish days, some days were little slips of paper that said things like "do a good deed today!" or "take your dog for a walk". low blow, Mom, low blow. of course you have to, because 1) it's in the Advent calendar and 2) it's almost Christmas. you bet your ass Santa is watching.

my house, complete with Christmas-decked crabapple tree

of course there were always two of each thing, so we could fairly share. whoever didn't pull the treat out that day got first pick- which didn't usually matter if it was gum, but it you can bet it was REALLY important if there was a mini Butterfinger and a mini Kit-Kat. sometimes I think my mom was performing some sort of psychological experiment on us.

as a kid, I was always kinda fuzzy on the whole concept of Advent. I never really paid attention when my mom would drag me to church, seeing as I'd usually bring a novel and hide it in my hymn book. Tamora Pierce doesn't have much to say about Advent. so even still, the concept of Advent is a little beyond me. I think I've mixed it up with the whole "Santa is watching your every move thing". something to do with being a good person. which I think is just grown-ups way of protecting themselves in snowball season.

so what I'm trying to say here is- I'm really excited for Christmas. to all the 0 people who read this (you know who you are, imaginary friends), expect more Christmas-themed posts. because it's amazing.