To everything there is a season...

We're quickly approaching the 5 month mark.

In the back of my mind, December has been kind of a milestone. I think this is because one of my colleagues, who was new to Thailand last year, told me that in December she started to feel normal, like settled in and I've been looking forward to that.

Living here where everyday is pretty much the same, I've become completely aware of how I have marked the passage of time throughout my life by the shift of seasons...

leaves change color, warmer clothes come out of the closet, snow falls, Holidays occur, snow melts, days get longer, flowers bloom, school gets out, swimsuits on at the beach, repeat...

But here, fall never came & neither has winter. (At least my idea of winter!) Don't get me wrong, there have been changes in the weather, but since I've never lived through an entire "rainy season" I don't have a feel for the context just yet. It has stopped raining and the evenings & night-time are cool, but it's still piping hot during the day (again, I don't have context, apparently piping hot will be relative when I experience my first hot season in the late spring.)

So maybe it's the "sameness" (each day with a little bit of cool & a little bit of hot & sunny)...and that's why it never really felt like Halloween, or Thanksgiving...and even though I just completed the Christmas Concert at school, it doesn't really feel like Christmas either (even with horrible recordings of Christmas music everywhere!) It's in December that winter usually starts to show itself, when I've always felt burdened down by the thought of having to endure another dark, cold, depressing season of snow. My yearning for that "settled in" feeling combined with the knowledge that snow will not be part of my winter experience this year made me turn over the calendar and welcome December!

I also welcomed December because I get to see my parents! We are meeting in Hawaii (where they had their honeymoon) just a few days after their 39th wedding anniversary, but really it could have been anywhere in the world...I'm more excited about seeing my parents then I am about seeing Hawaii, even though I've always wanted to go there!

And it's true, I am feeling here, now, present, settled in...but I still woke up the other day, opened my eyes and said to myself, "I live in Thailand now" and I smiled as I said it.

This tree in our yard was blooming on Thanksgiving Day.

Also on Thanksgiving Day, I discovered poinsettias for sale,

I have 2 planted in our flower box with another one on the way.

We bought a hammock and transformed our front porch space into a delightful seating area, Baxter & I hang out there often in the evenings now.

It's one of my new favorite things about our house here.

This guy burrowed himself into our yard, I only saw him because he was near the hose.

I became totally fascinated with him, he stayed there for almost a week!

I haven't seen him lately :(