6th November 2008

I’ve decided I’ve had enough of November and it’s only the 6th. I’d quite like it to be over and December to be here. The more I think about it, the less I like it. I’ll try and explain.

In November the weather is rubbish, its gray and dull and rainy and getting cold. October is a lovely time for the weather, the trees are changing colour and it’s beautifully autumnal. But as autumn turns into winter it goes through the dank, damp, nose dripping stage. I’m a big fan of the seasons and generally love living in England and seeing the year change. I don’t, however, like grey days. Or drizzle, either rain or don’t rain goddamnit!!

Apart from the weather, November is about waiting. Halloween (or Samhain) and all its celebrations, is over, the pumpkins gone squishy and been put on the compost. All the Christmas things have started appearing in the shops – but if you mention it people tut and say it’s too early. I really love Christmas (and Yule) but if I start getting excited now my husband will have killed me by mid December!

On a more serious note, November is not a good month for my other half. November marks the anniversary of his dad’s death. His birthday was also in November. His dad died of cancer when he was nine years old and was obviously a dark time for him and his mum. So both of them spend the month being depressed, crabby and generally on edge.

He doesn’t even do it consciously. Last year we were having a lot of arguments, he was impossible to please or keep happy. Neither of us twigged what the problem was till half way through the month. This year I offered to mark the occasions somehow, visit a favourite place of his dads, or do something with his mum, have a meal – anything really that would give them something to focus their darkness onto and hopefully help them move on from it. But he didn’t want to, he wants to be left to his month of sadness.

So all in all I’ve decided we should be able to fast forward through November, straight to the first door on the advent calendar.