halloween is fast upon us, which i hate for all sorts of reasons that partly have to do with my children, the lunatic neighbors that out do themselves every year with laying out horrifying dungeons on their front lawns, and the teenagers that inevitably steal the bowl of candy we leave out towards the end of the night.

but getting past this cavity filled spookfest leads us to thanksgiving, which is rife with a completely different spectrum of familial tension and distended bellies and that car ride home where you are both flustered and dangerously sleepy behind the wheel .

that leaves us with xmas and the new year. which ok. that’s nice. it really is. favorite holidays of the year.

but that isn’t what excites me, and this is what might sound strange.

it’s the promise of SNOW. of BLIZZARDS .

and with blizzards comes long dark nights cuddled up together to watch the world turn pristine and humble outside your window. to watch your little part of this mad, mad world go quiet and serene and, however briefly, at peace.