Happy December, Everyone!

First, some housekeeping:

I only have two weeks left here in Spain, so my time will be spent drinking up all of it. Sorry if the blog gets a little neglected.

I am planning to write about my time in Italy, (Oh, yeah, I went to Florence? Did you know that?) and also videos are slowly being created....but I've been hitting some major writing block (hense, the housekeeping post)

After my program here ends, my following plans will kick in. I'm going to gallivant around Spain and Paris with my family. YAY! Followed by a solid 60 hours at home before heading to New Zealand. I'm only just beginning to realize how much more there is left to do this year. My god. Nine months is a long time.

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Okay, on to the real stuff. It's December already. What? When did that happen. It always seems to come out of nowhere. 

If I had thought ahead, I would have prepared something really cool to do in December. Like a little blog a day or short video a day, maybe with a title like "Dear December." But alas, it is the 3rd of December, and I wonder if it is too late to do so. 

The cities here dress up for December. They bring out their best lights, their prettiest decorations. Shop windows have multi-colored lights rotating, and grand shapes of white lights hang across every street. They play Christmas music here, too, and sometimes I find myself stopped in the middle of the street, surprised by the familiar tune issuing from some nearby shop. 

While it is cold, it isn't too cold. And there's an absence of snow. I know it has been snowing like crazy and students are probably dreaming of snow days. Like that's gonna happen.

The other thing I have been seriously missing about the Christmas season is the cookies. Now, I'm not the biggest baker in the world, although I do like to think my family has a mean chocolate-chip banana bread recipe, but man, could I do with some Christmas cookies right now. Or better yet, plain old cookie dough. 

If I'm brave enough, I might venture to say that December is my favorite month. Yes, my birthday is in December. Yes, so is Christmas. Yes, it's cold and dark, and filled with the stress of exams. 

But.

There's something about December that always says, "Winter has come." Maybe it's that the snow shows up suddenly, and I know it won't decide to leave for many more months. Maybe it's the chill outside that makes me want to cozy up to a book or blank journal. Maybe it's the way the air crystalizes everything around you: your breathe, the windows, the twinkling lights, and your memories. I've been putting together a little Word doc of poetry that I've fallen in love with. It's pretty small right now, because, I'm embarrassed to admit, my knowledge of poetry isn't as vast as I'd like it to be. 

There's something about December that opens up its arms to you, inviting you to settle down and take a good long moment to think. Slow down for a bit. Sit. And drink wine with old friends late into the night. 

Time, I think, does not move in December in the same way it does in other months. Somehow, moments last forever while they melt away like the first snowflakes falling on the palm of your hand.