It happens every year, starting right about the time retailers clean up the messes left by worn out parents and students filled with dread after all the back-to-school shopping sprees.
Amid the dog days of summer still barking with 90+ degree temperatures, the spooky season starts making its presence known. It doesn't make sense when you need sunscreen for that August beach vacation or an oscillating fan because your air conditioning is on the fritz, but all you can find at stores are ghostly decorations and pumpkin spice-flavored everything.
Don't get me wrong—autumn is my favorite season. I love the spooks, the sports, the frights, the films and all the vibes that come with fall. I just don't understand why we're forced to jump into it like a pile of raked, fallen leaves when the foliage is still firmly attached to all the trees. Everywhere you look in August is Halloween.
Then, as quick as a jump scare, Christmas appears the morning after All Hallow's Eve. It's supposed to be All Saints Day, but the only saint who matters is Nicholas for the next 55 days. Actually, this is conservative. That Yuletide Spirit often haunts part of October, too, once the costumes and candy are all picked over, leaving only things like Kid-sized Roadkill and Tootsie Rolls available. But you can shop for stockings and candy canes aplenty!
It's what I like to call the Hallogivingsmas season, where nearly half of the calendar year is occupied by two holidays. From Ghost and Goblins straight into Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present, it's a bombardment of multi-media holiday-themed ads, consumer goods, and entertainment, all aimed at our pocketbooks.
We do have a break, though... one day... where the focus shifts to family and food and giving thanks. Just not a whole day, as Thanksgiving dinner gets infringed upon by the biggest holiday buying day of the year with many stores starting their Black Friday sales on Thursday evening.
It's a shame, because it makes Thanksgiving feel rushed through, like the Detroit Lions defense every year before the turkey is served. The purpose of the day is one of the most noble around that our nation could certainly use right now: being thankful.
There's plenty wrong with the world. And we're bombarded with it on TV and social media. While we can't solve all the world's problems, we can make a profound difference in our own little worlds with a shift in perspective. Rather than griping about grievances, being grateful about something shines a lot of light around us. People notice. And attitudes of gratitude are contagious. Breeding positivity that brings about good change.
So as we get caught up in the overwhelming busyness and bombardment of holiday times, hopefully we can remember to pause during passes of gravy and just say thanks to somebody or about something in our lives. Being thankful for nearly six months of Halloween and Christmas is OK too, I guess.
Also, don't forget that right around the Hallowgivingsmas corner, just before the New Year's Eve ball drops, we'll be getting reminders about Valentine's Day. Something for which us guys should probably be thankful, having plenty of time to prepare. Otherwise, we'd be desperately digging through Easter paraphernalia at stores in search of cards and heart-shaped candy on February 13.
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