"And since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" Dean sings. I love this time of year. The food is warm, the songs are glad, and we send gifts to those we care for. Mom, Dad, Joe, and I try to put up the tree, and we have a hitch or two at first, but we get all the lights up by the end of the day. The whole house is quite blithe in the weeks that lead up to break; though there are the tough tests I have to take next week, thoughts of gifts, snow, and Saint Nick make the hard work worth it.
The end of this week marks one of the best parts of this month; each year at the same time, my aunt comes and bakes stuff with us til the point when we are all stuffed with sweet treats. We don't eat all of the things we bake, though. We pack some up and send them to friends as a nice gift wrapped box to open in a few days. Of course I like to make the great food that marks the shift from fall to frost on the ground, boots on our feet, and wreaths on our doors, but I also hold on to these hours I spend with those I love.
And then there are the tunes. We blast the best songs to match the mood, and most of the time that means "Sleigh Ride," "Deck the Halls," and the rare "Joy to the World." But I don't mind that we play the same ones a few times a day; I don't care what song it is as long as it's cute and fits in with the snow day state of mind. Lately I have wished for a night when I go to bed and wake up to snow on the ground. A coat of clean, fresh snow to start the day would be great. It's not that I'm in love with the cold, per se, but a change from the mild, bland days we have had the past few weeks would be quite nice.
In short, I get thrilled when I think of break. Though most of the time the cheer at this time of year is linked to the ways kids act when they hear of Saint Nick and his bag of toys, I have yet to grow out of this stage of awe. I think the songs, food, gifts, and snow will have their own spot in my heart for years to come.
I'm not sure at what point you may have caught on, but I wrote all of this post (this part too!) with short words! It was tough at a few spots, but I'm glad each phrase did not sound too strange. The worst part was when I had to find short words to mean the same things as the long words I would have liked to use. Let me know what you think!
I didn't notice until the last paragraph, but now when I read it, I can see where you had to substitute words. Like "frost" instead of "winter" and "til" instead of "until". You make it seem easy, great job!
ReplyDeletenice job Gabby! :P I definitely didn't notice the short words until you mentioned it. I liked how you captured the spirit of the time around the holidays. I would also agree on your statements regarding snow; we really do need some! I was reading in the newspaper the other day that the average day for measurable snowfall in champaign (.25+ inches) is December 2nd, but apparently we missed that this year. :(
ReplyDeleteI agree with Freddie and Vinay, you used them short words so fluidly that it didn't sound off at all. On another note, your Christmas traditions sound fun and delicious, just how they ought to be! Although the anticipating days and weeks leading up to Christmas seem to almost be as exciting as the actual day, but I'm still pumped to be out of school for now haha.
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