There and Back Again

Listening: Mad World
Disposition: Best of all is it to preserve everything in a pure, still heart, and let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song. (Konrad von Gesner)

I walked to coffee this morning to jumpstart this restless Wednesday morning. The morning autumn wind was crisp and yet welcoming. The city public works crew has started to put up Christmas lights on the Sequoia trees and the invitation banners for the Filoli mansion winter garden tours were flying in the wind.

Outside Noah’s Bagel was this young kid (employee) who was urging passersby to purchase the best Christmas gift of the season from Noah’s: a basket containing two thermoses, bags of coffee beans and a certificate good towards 12 bagels every month for 1 year — all for the unbeatable price of $49.99. Twelve bagels a month is a lot of bagels, don’t you think?

Inside the local Safeway store, the crowd was just starting to come in to do some last minute Thanksgiving-dinner shopping. I thought about purchasing a bottle of wine but the checkout line was already ridiculously long, so I skipped. I purchased coffee at the Starbucks store inside instead to go with the PBJ (peanut butter jelly) sandwich my sister and I made last night.

Everything around me is a reminder that Thanksgiving is here and the holidays are upon us. Thank God! Thanksgiving and Christmas are my two favorite holidays and December is my favorite month. It is when my heart is just bursting with excitement for reasons I don’t know about and there’s a jolt to my walk and restlessness in my soul. Holidays bring back childhood memories that make me laugh and sometimes make me all teary eyed and longing for days of old. Holidays is a time to remember friends and be thankful for all the wonderful things the year have brought in and erase the tears of all the bad things it brought.

Happy, happy Holidays are here!