November

November usually starts the doldrum of winter.  The leaves are gone, the grass is grey-brown, the winds rise and whistle down from the mountains to slam into speeding vehicles along the highways and people start on the misery journey.  Heavy coats and boots come out of the closets, sniffling noses begin to be heard on the bus and smiling faces are rare along the sidewalks.

            November is the calm before the storm of activity that occurs as December approaches with Christmas shopping, Christmas parties and Christmas anticipation.  So revel in November as though this were your mini-hibernation.  Make like a bear and then breathe deeply the crisp air as you step outside and you will feel braver for having done so.  Put on your favourite dance music as you cook your dinner or tidy the house and don’t forget to sway those hips as you bustle about.  Pull out your Christmas cards and first enjoy looking over the leftovers of past years, then settle down at your writing space and work on the list of friends and family who will be lucky enough to receive one of your treasured notes.  Don’t rush, the first day simply address envelopes and choose the card for that person.  Remember, you are in hibernation mode so nothing needs to be done in a hurry.  Starting in November, there is plenty of time to savour the special moments that lead up to that glittering sparkling silver blue month of December.

            Yes, November is a humble month in Canada.  We don’t even have the anticipation of Thanksgiving as the Americans have but we can take away the grimness and bleakness by savouring a quiet and gentler pace before the madness begins.  November can be a time of reflection, reverie, a time for the soul to rest from the exciting pace of autumn’s first mania and the crazy days of shopping for bargains, or just plain SHOPPING. 

November is good.  Hello November.