rubbing my hands together to keep them warm

i was expecting mid-november to more like... well, mid-november.
so, i turned up the ac, grabbed the biggest knit sweater i could find, and warmed up spiced apple cider. now that i'm finishing sucking on the last pieces of my cinnamon stick (a welcome new addition to my future ciders-to-be-made for sure), my smile tells me that something inside of me aches for the autumn season. maybe it's the weather and warm clothes, but i think it's deeper than that most likely.

uncle brad and aunt cindy are staying here for the weekend, my parents best friends from college. my mom and cindy are a perfect pair, giggling at their familiar inside jokes and munching politely on ghiradelli peppermint bark (bought solely for just the two of them). brad and my father are the classic batman and robin, abbott and costello, sherlock holmes and watson. they've read a library's worth of books together, and i feel like they've been at every important moment of each other's lives somehow. what's heartwarming is that i haven't seen my father so delighted in so long; his joy seems to almost be bubbling out from inside of him every time he says a word. his joy is contagious, and our home feels like it's glowing. i feel like i'm glowing. i feel like a family :).

thanksgiving is just around the corner, and i'm highly anticipating watching the parade in my fuzzy slipper socks and flannel pj's, embracing my cup of colombian coffee and slice(s) of rich pumpkin pie*. perhaps the parade is just a facade and meaningless to the majority of americans, but i find it's outwardly cheery atmosphere quintessential for my november 25th experience. it makes me wish every day could be an "experience"... which makes me want to create every day as an experience now :) live each day as if it had a purpose. who said that again? ... i'm going to go with winston churchill. but probably just because i like to think about him in my mind, a jolly old rotund man with a fat cigar puffing out from his chapped lips as he smiles down at england, waves his stubby arms furiously in the air with the sense of happy victory and relief in his authority.

that was an odd thought.