Chezsven Blog: Wellfleet Today: Why I Dislike November ...

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Why I Dislike November ...

Quiet season is settling in, and it feels good. The phone no longer rings with requests from travelers. Hits to the StatCounter have decreased dramatically, despite my having posted a Thanksgiving Special for Seagull Cottage at Bedandbreakfast.com, a stark reminder that the recession is not over. Sven and I have the house to ourselves again. There are fewer cars along Main Street in downtown Wellfleet. Shops are closing for the winter. What leaves remain on the trees shudder in the cold north wind. Chipmunks prepare for hibernation. It’s time to put the garden to bed for another year. November must be my least favorite month. The days grow longer. Summer has become a memory. The promise of spring is not yet in the air. Both my parents passed away in November, my mother in 2006, and my dad in 1999. It’s sobering how time passes, seeming to accelerate as we age. November is a month for holding close those we love, and for counting our blessings …

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jerusha · 698 weeks ago

the days grow shorter (I guess the nights are longer, tho)

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jerusha · 698 weeks ago

Thank you for this beautiful bittersweet tribute to the season.
My Dad also died in November (2008) the week of Obama's election, the celebration of which he may have percieved even thru the veil of coma...He died a week before the 70th anniversary of my parents marriage in Jerusalem, a day after Kristalnacht in November '38. An act of love and hope in the face of desolation and fearful times.

Like the dark ground of a richly colored oil painting, November and the gathering darkness of Northern winter provides a somber backdrop that makes the sparks of joy, creativity and hope in our lives, like tiny colored holiday lights, shine all the brighter.

1 reply · active 697 weeks ago

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chezsven 82p · 697 weeks ago

Jerusha, thanks for sharing. I will try to make my creativity shine bright, like the colored holiday lights. Beautiful sentence you wrote!

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Champion of My Heart · 698 weeks ago

This time of year is brutal for me (on the inside) too. Chin up.
My recent post Border Collie Being Earnest: A Photo Essay

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Kristen · 697 weeks ago

I'm so sorry about your parents. I can see why November is such a somber month for you. But I do enjoy that it seems people are more focused on gratitude in November, myself included.

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NoPotCooking · 697 weeks ago

Unfortunately all the stores seem to think November is only about Christmas. And now there is Christmas music on the radio already too. Thanksgiving is the lost holiday!
My recent post Blog Tour

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Jane Boursaw · 697 weeks ago

I think those emotional memories of losing loved ones are really embedded in our souls... we may not even realize that *that's the thing making us blue until we stop to think about it...

Re seasons... I decided a few years ago to make a point to celebrate each passing season and revel in the glories each season offers. Some days -- and years -- that's easier said than done.
My recent post New York Film Festival 2011 Features George Clooney, West Memphis Three

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alisa bowman · 697 weeks ago

I was thinking about this just this morning. I walk through a bunch of cemetery's every morning. This morning I noticed one grave had the caption: Make Today Count. It was on the grave of a woman who'd died at age 40, just a little younger than I am now. Brought tears to my eyes and I have promised her that I will, indeed, make today count.
My recent post 9 Signs You’ve Lost Sight of Your Marriage Goals

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ruthpennebaker · 697 weeks ago

When I was a kid, I always loved November because it brought my birthday. Many, many birthdays later, getting older doesn't have the same appeal it once did. So I concentrate on Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, which requires only gluttony and not presents.
My recent post I am My Own Sherpa, Among Other Things

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Sheryl · 697 weeks ago

I try so hard to embrace each season, but winter seems to be the toughest. but I do love Thanksgiving, and look forward to it every year. It is easy to understand how losses, though, would absolutely lend more than a bit of melancholy to it.

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Kerry Dexter · 697 weeks ago

I've always enjoyed the reflective spirit of November, and the transition from autumn to winter it brings. I've learned to celebrate those who are gone with good memories. I wish that for you this November.
My recent post Celtic music and Nordic music meet: Fribo

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merr · 697 weeks ago

Winter is a time of being more inward, which can be really nurturing, but it can also be intense. Thinking of you.
My recent post The 5-Question [Author+Therapist] Interview: Rachel Ballon

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Stanley · 697 weeks ago

Sandy I think you owe yourself a vacation! Down here, November is crisp, dry, sunny and mild. The tourists arrive en masse, and I make an effort to spend as much time as possible outside enjoying the sun and sand. The prolonged darkness of the New England winter always got me down --though it possesses its own mournful beauty. Best wishes from my place in the sun, Stan

1 reply · active 697 weeks ago

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chezsven 82p · 697 weeks ago

Yes, Stan. I do need a vacation. You're right. Hah!

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janet · 697 weeks ago

I know what you mean. It gets dark so early here now. It's already dark when I get home from work. But I enjoy our late fall colors...so much later than tour bus season, and so beautiful when the sun shines.

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chezsven 82p · 697 weeks ago

Thank you to everyone for sharing thoughts on the month of November.

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Connie · 697 weeks ago

This is a bittersweet post- thank you for sharing your thoughts.
My recent post Deja vu

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Vera Badertscher · 697 weeks ago

Yes, November can seem bleak in the north. That's why Tucson's motels and resorts are filled to the bursting with people who enjoy our blue skies and outdoor life.
My recent post Meet Kerry Dexter: Music Travel Mondays

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jeanine barone · 697 weeks ago

My birthday is in November but I have always told everyone that I wished I were born in a different month because November is my least favorite months. There's no snow for skiing or to make the landscape just look lovelier but it's too cold to hang out in parks and other green spaces. It feels like a lost-in-limbo month.

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