I leave work and start walking to my hotel. It’s a cool but very nice and sunny day so my jacket is open and I’m strolling along, my eyes squinting from the sun, and I look at the people around me as I walk past palm trees… and it hits me (again).
I’m starting my Christmas Holidays! But… but… where’s the snow? How am I not wearing any boots? It *can’t* be Christmas!!
For a Canadian like me, where Christmas usually equals snow, ice, cold, heavy layers, and fireplaces, I suddenly feel like I’m on another planet!
So I take the time and try to think about it. What is it that I’m missing? It doesn’t take long for an answer to pop up: the ambiance! I can do without the ice (except in an outdoor ice rink at the local park!) and I can do without the massive snow (although I really do enjoy a light powder that helps make things “glow”) and the cold… well, the cold is really where it’s at, it seems. The need to get bundled up, the family huddled together on the couch with a nice fire going in the fireplace, the lights on the tree winking and giving off a warm glow as well, while sharing in some holiday movie…. moments like that are what I look for at Christmas time.
Not the mad dashing, not the nonstop shoveling, but the slow, leisurely pace of life in a much more relaxed state. Spending the day in pjs, or playing in the snow in the backyard and coming into the house for a hot cup of cocoa… mmm… I’m feeling happy and relaxed already just thinking about it! 
And so, as I spend my last couple of hours looking outside my hotel room in Emeryville (balcony open so as to let in some cool air), I feel my body begin to relax and unwind as it starts the internal shift to being at home, with my family, snuggled away from the cold, enjoying our time together during these Festive days… and wishing Good Cheer and Happy Memories to one and all!
Be Excellent to each Other! And… Party on, Dudes!