Christmas

December 9th.

The days are getting shorter and the nights colder. A sure sign that winter is setting in and the inevitable scraping of car windows, hot cocoa with marshmallows, warm mittens and snow boots are a necessity. The Christmas Tree is decorated, the stockings are hung, and the familiar scent of cinnamon fills the kitchen as spices boil on the stove.

Where has all the time gone? Why is it that each Christmas arrives much faster than the last one? How is it that every year I look at my children, and wonder how they could possibly grow as fast as they do?

It won't be long now, before I hear tip-toes and giggles as the kids peek at whats under the tree, and then feel the gentle nudge of a 7-year old reminding me that it's Christmas and time to get up. It won't be long before the living room is filled with Harry Connick, Jr. and shredded wrapping paper. Before I know it, Christmas will come and go, and the magic of the season will be long gone. This is why I am taking in all the wonder of this time of year...because there will soon come a day when the kids are grown, and the tip-toes and giggles won't fill my Christmas morning any longer.

But, until then, I will savor each day, and each season, and each year that passes, because although I want it to, time won't stand still for anyone...not even me.