This morning the dogs let me sleep longer than usual. When I got downstairs, I took my time. The coffee was delicious. This month it is from Mexico. I yummed my way through 3 cups, one more than usual. I shared my banana with the dogs. I read the paper slowly so as not to miss any news. Many comic artists celebrated the 100th birthday of Charles Shultz in their strips. Charlie Brown and Snoopy prominently appear. Some comics had veiled references, and they were fun. Today is starting out to be a great day.

The worst time, when I was a kid, was when my bike went into hibernation in the cellar. It was often too cold to go riding. Going down my hill was the worst. The cold wind blew right up the sleeves of my jacket. It was the season of walking.

I remember when the thick Sears catalog arrived. We fought over whose turn it was to look through the book. I remember circling the pictures of toys I wanted for Christmas and putting my name next to the circles. I’d make a list. I’d write down what I wanted in my letter to Santa. I even added the item numbers in case he wanted to look.

I don’t remember exactly when we started decorating for Christmas. My guess is we nagged my mother as soon as the turkey became soup, the last vestige of Thanksgiving. The lights in the windows were first. They were always orange. The candelabra went in the middle, in the picture window. Cardboard decorations like Santa and a Christmas tree were taped to the windows. I remember white stencils on the picture window. I remember Santa. The tree wouldn’t be put up for a couple of weeks. That was what we most anticipated.

My father put up the outside lights after he’d spend a long time untangling them and cursing when he did. The bulbs were huge and got really hot. They were colored lights. Back then, nobody had just white lights. He’d cover the bushes in front of the house. The cord from the lights went through an opened, slightly opened, window and were plugged into a house outlet. It was always cold near that window.

When my father was finished, I’d run outside to see the lights. I was always awed.