Tis the Season

Christmas in New York comes early. About a week before Thanksgiving, my mom came out to see us. We were thrilled to welcome her into our little home as the first official family member to make the trek out. She actually came for a conference of English Teachers so she was very busy and we caught moments together where we could. It was so fun. She discovered a store called Dr. Jayz where she bought about a million pairs of cute striped socks. She was surprised that she seemed to be the only white person who had discovered this great place.
As we were wandering through the streets together with my mama, GK and I noticed that the streets were just a little more crowded than usual.
Maybe it's because the Macy's windows have their Miracle on 34th Street displays up as well as their new age Santa windows. Or maybe it's because the Salvation Army Bell Ringers are out. Or maybe it's because it was starting to get really cold. Either way, the crowds have been steadily increasing since then and the Christmas Season is in full swing before December 1.
GK and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We spent the day with my mom's sister Betsy, and her partner Larry and extensions of both Betsy and Larry. Altogether there were 12 of us I think and boy did B and L put on a show. Larry had been cooking for four days by the time we arrived on Thursday morning. He looked a little worn out, but his food was UNBELIEVABLE! The sweet potatoes, the regular potatoes, smoked turkey and regular turkey, stuffing, etc. etc. It made me begin my plot to be invited back every year.
Before the big dinner, a big group of us tried to go watch the Macy's day Parade. Larry had invitations to a building where we could have had an amazing view. But by the time we got there, there were so many people on the streets that we couldn't get through to the entrance of the building. I have never seen so many people for a parade. They were stacked twenty to thirty deep on the sidewalks and then on the cross streets, they filled the block. All any of us really could see were the giant balloons floating by and everyone would cheer and get so excited, you forgot how little of the parade you were actually seeing.
So now we're heading toward Christmas and feeling a little homesick. We're wishing we could be nearer to more of our loved ones, but we're trying to soak in every bit of Holiday Magic we can find.