The First Snow-ell

I'm taking a break from the Excel-induced coma work has put me into to tell everyone that it just SNOWED for the first time this winter... at least enough to be seen by multiple people and elicit a few cries of, "Yay! It's so pretty!" It's over now, but for one, glorious moment, thousands of tiny white flakes swirled around outside our 18th floor office windows. 

After the humid mess it was last week, this sudden blast of cold and flurries really makes it feel like holiday time. And lord knows I LOVE holiday time. The commercials start in with tinkly music, stores fill up with cozy sweaters, and of course 97.5 plays 24/7 Christmas music, which I admit I've been listening to for the past 2 weeks. (Mariah Carey's All I Want for Xmas? Brilliant.) I can't wait until everyone is together for Thanksgiving and Christmas in a warm, bright house, surrounded by a happy, giving atmosphere. It gives me chills just thinking about it! 

NOTE: I'm Jewish. But Hanukah feels different than Christmas. It's a little more solemn, a little more educational (or maybe that's just because I have to keep explaining it to people), a little more sparse and spread out, and it involves less family. I'm proud to be a Jew, to eat latkes and celebrate 8 nights of illumination. But let's face it, Christmas generates more excitement.