I am so flippin' thankful

that Thanksgiving is over!

Now don't get me wrong. I love Thanksgiving. What's not to love about a holiday whose sole purpose is to stuff yourself silly on turkey and pie? Not to mention the fact that we have so many leftovers from that one dinner that I haven't had to cook a proper meal since Wednesday. Thanksgiving is indeed a great holiday and I enjoyed every minute of it. Highlight from this year's Thanksgiving included Grandma

And pigtails!

And at some point, I'm not quite sure at precisely which point, but at some point Meaty turned into a full blown pumpkin pie addict. I don't think he has ever tried pumpkin pie before this year. Or if he has, he was never impressed by it. But this year that was all he wanted to eat. He asked over and over again, when could he eat pumpkin pie. He must have had three pieces on Thanksgiving alone. He ate all the pumpkin pie in the house. He has requested I make more, NOW. And he has requested pumpkin pie for his birthday instead of cake. I've always preferred a fruit pie, or even a pecan pie, over pumpkin, but hey, I'm not going to stand between my child and his love of pumpkin pastry.

But now, thank goodness, Thanksgiving is over and I can completely throw myself into Christmas with complete abandon!

I want to give each Holiday its day. I love the holiday season and want to give each holiday its own separate celebration. I want to celebrate Halloween without giving a thought to Thanksgiving. I want Thanksgiving to have its day in the spot light. Same for Christmas, then New Years. Each holiday getting its own measure of joy. But we were over eager this year. We put our tree up early. As lovely as it was I could not enjoy it. It was detracting from Thanksgiving. Our stairwell is a masterpiece of garland, lights, and red berries. But it was tainted by the guilt. Thanksgiving was being shafted, and I felt bad about that. Not bad enough to stop with the Christmas decorations. But bad enough that I could not truly enjoy them.

But no longer.

No longer will I feel guilty that our tree is already up. No longer will I have to pretend to be annoyed by Christmas carols in Wal-Mart. I don't have to feel like I'm shafting Thanksgiving somehow by having my manger scene out, because Thanksgiving is over. I can delight in my stairwell.

I mean, c'mon, what's not to love about my stairwell. It's so pretty. My house is so pretty. There are carols to sing, parades to attend, the upcoming "Holiday" concert at school. There are gifts to buy and wrap and mail. Other gifts to buy and hide. Cookies, cookies, and more cookies to eat. I can throw myself in it all and delight in the magic of every second.

I'm so thankful Thanksgiving is over.