Picture print by currier & ives

28 November 2008

I love Karen Carpenter. She is the voice of Christmas. In fact, it's not Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving when Mom turns on the Carpenters. I hear, like herald angels announcing the season, those first notes: "It cayme upon a midnight cleeer!" And thus the season is ushered in, safely after we have Given Thanks.

This year though, I had a change of heart and Christmas began a little early.

Last weekend Bryan and I stopped by SmartCookie for some dessert. It was still days before Thanksgiving, but ice cream shops all over Provo were already breaking out the eggnog and peppermint flavors. Of course, I would never pick a Christmas flavor before the official inauguration of the season, but something suddenly over came me and I heard myself asking for "two gingersnaps with peppermint, please."

What? Blasphemy!

The girl handed me the ice cream sandwich, and for a moment I stood stunned by my sudden rebellion against all that is holly and ivy.

But gingersnaps are my favorite, and the peppermint smelled so much like childhood...

One taste was all it took and I became a forever-changed woman!

"This tastes just like Christmas!"

By the time we climbed into the car and cranked up the Christmas carols (I love Karen Carpenter!), I couldn't quite remember why I had whined for all these years about pre-Turkeyday Yuletide Joy!

Moral of the story: I love Karen Carpenter. Did I mention that?