I am currently staring down a stink bug, trying to get the courage to put a cup on top of it and trap it. Not even kill it, just trap it.

This has been going on for the past 15 minutes.

Oh hell, it just moved.

Why am I paralyzed?

Thanksgiving is what I consider the official start of the most wonderful time of year.

The only negative thing about the holiday season is cold. Well, snow too, but that’s a result of cold.

Thanksgiving, the day of gratitude, helps us regain focus on the important things that come with friends and family like a sense of home, support, peace, and humility. Taking a full day to ponder those things puts me in a much better mindset to approach a holiday that is too often lost in commercialism and greed.

Thanksgiving for me means spending the day laughing a making memories with family, re-grounding myself, appreciating the little things. It means tomorrow I put up my Christmas tree, do a little shopping, start the constant stream of Christmas music playing. It means in a week I’ll spend each evening watching a different Christmas movie, spending time snuggled in blankets with a cup of cocoa, getting ready to wrap and send presents.

Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Beautiful, simple, magical.

It’s started, and I’m on cloud nine, sipping my cocoa.