It’s that time of year again. The leaves are falling off of the trees, children go from house to house, knocking on people’s doors and yelling “Trick or Treat!” when the owner’s drop candy into their pillowcases and plastic jack-o-lantern style baskets. They walk around the neighborhood for a couple hours accompanied by their parents, dressed in adorable costumes that make the candy-givers sigh and remark on the adorable toddlers.

Several days go by; all the children wake up early to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on television. The grownups trickle in, and soon the aunts and uncles, parents and grandparents sit and watch all of the floats with the bright-eyed little ones. The women get to work on dinner, and soon there is a big turkey waiting for the family, along with sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, pumpkin rolls and pecan pies. Everyone reflects on what they are thankful for, along with looking forward to the holidays quickly approaching in the coming months.
The sound of little feet running down the hallway, excited whispers fill the chilled air in the house as the children run into the living room to find the presents that Santa left for them the night before. As the adults trickle in, the little ones run up to show them what they have found, while the mothers run and grab their cameras to document every aspect of this special once-a-year event. Once all of the adults are awake and in the living room, the children run to the tree and impatiently wait for their mothers to give them the “okay”. Once it is given, the little ones grab their assigned packages, ripping the paper and squealing when they finally locate the contents of the present. The mothers remind the children of their “thank-you”s, and “you’re welcome” quickly follows. Everyone is joyful and happy, trying out their new things, hugging and kissing as a sign of thanks, while laughter is heard from every room in the brightly-lit house.
Everyone loves the holidays, whether for fellowship with family members that are not often seen, or just for the food and good cheer. Holidays are a time of laughter and fun, giving everyone something to look forward to for the rest of the year.










Happy Holidays!