November is really a glorious month, and aside from Thanksgiving, I don't think it feels the love.
Bookended by the cool, colorful October days and the frosty, twinkling December nights, this month can be a little, well, bleak. The weather these past few days has been incredible, and truthfully the leaves in Mt. Washington are at their prime right now. But just 20 miles north at my parent's house, the trees are bare. The local forecast is calling for sleet at the end of the week.
What more do we really expect from November? It has this nasty reputation for biting winds and slushy rains and a general sense of blah. Oh, and on top of that, it's now dark before dinnertime.
Lakes, geese, bare branches, and gray skies: November in a nutshell. Wait, maybe that's a swan?
But here's the thing. Even if November lives down to our collective expectations -- bare and sere and chilled -- maybe this is Nature's way of saying "go take a nap." I adore the holidays, the festivity and cheer and binge-eating and gift-buying that characterize Thanksgiving to Christmas. But it can get a little exhausting too.
Me after working Christmas Eve retail in my college days. Ugh.
Sometimes you just want to snuggle down under a comforter with a good book, a cold mug of cider, your dog, and your husband. November gives you full permission to nap before the party starts. If January through April are months for serious hibernation (they are), then November is it for a light snooze.
I am capable of embracing and celebrating all months except bitter March, but luckily I married a March baby so now I have a reason to enjoy that one too. And so, here's to November. You make me crave Woodchuck Winter Cider and pot roasts. You make it okay to sleep until ten on a Saturday morning and then toddle off to bed at 10:30 on a Saturday night (I know). Your stereotypical crappiness makes the beautiful days that much sweeter. You give us pause before Thanksgiving and Christmas, and as we all know, I love a good reason to slow down.
And luckily, I found two like-minded souls to slow down with me.
November, I love you...
"Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers."
[Edgar A. Guest, Thanksgiving ]