Dear Crabby,
I love fall. Living in Michigan, I think it’s the best season to experience and our last hurrah before the dreaded ‘s’ stuff starts falling. But it seems like as soon as Labor Day was over and the school routine started up again, I was hearing whispers of Christmas. Now I’m no Scrooge, but isn’t it too early to be talking about putting up trees and playing holiday music non-stop?
Thanks,
Suzie Salem
Dear Suzie Salem,
Yes! It’s absolutely too soon to be yapping about Christmas. Now Mrs. Crabby does her Christmas shopping throughout the year and I’ve got nothing against that since she buys a lot on sale and online. But I’ve lost count of the number of people I saw on Facebook who at the beginning of SEPTEMBER were chomping at the bit to put up their holiday decorations and start singing Christmas songs. Really? Didn’t the Bible and The Byrds both say that to everything there is a season? Well, guess what? It ain’t the fa-la-la-la-la season yet. As I stated in one of my latest columns, fall is my favorite season. I have fond memories as a child of piling into the family car on a Sunday (after church, of course) and heading to the nearest cider mill. If you ask me, there’s nothing more fall than the taste of a crisp apple you 
picked off a tree. Let fall have its due with hayrides, haunted houses, and Thanksgiving for crying out loud. Why on earth are people trying to gloss over a day filled with food and the one day where miracles happen and the Detroit Lions actually win a game? I went into Rite-Aid the other day to pick up my bunion cream and some other odds and ends, when I noticed that the fall items were fifty percent off. And right across from the pumpkins and scarecrows were the Christmas items. This travesty is also popping up in Target and Costco. My daughter called the house last Saturday to see if Mrs. Crabby needed anything from the craft store because all their Halloween stuff was marked at seventy percent off. Has anyone looked at a calendar recently? Halloween is still three weeks away! My no-nonsense nonagenarian neighbor thinks it has gotten to the point where the Christmas industry should just rip the bandage off and have stuff out all year long. Wonder what Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland would think of others honing in on their holiday spirit?
Look. I get that some people really, really, REALLY like Christmas, snow, and all those jingle bells, but we shouldn’t be trying to rush things. Let’s slow down and take time to enjoy what’s in front of us instead of wishing time away for the next season to start. And here’s a thought, why don’t we try to remember what the Christmas season is supposed to be about. Things like peace on earth (‘cuz after this election we’re gonna need it) and spending time with loved ones. Although, I will admit I’m looking forward to seeing what Starbucks’ ‘Satan Sippers’ look like this year. Hehee.
So, I’m gonna stick with fall and maybe, just maybe come December 1, I’ll starting thinking about Christmas. Or maybe I’ll just hang Valentine’s Day decorations and see what the neighbors say.
Enjoy your fall!
Dear Crabby
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