Traditions

Every year, for the past 7 years, my mom has visited me over the Thanksgiving holiday. We do a lot of shopping and eating and walking while she is here. We go to the Christmas Tree Shop and I stock up on mulling spices for the coming winter season while she buys surprises for her secret santa. We have a sandwich at Oxford Spa and a dinner at West Side Lounge. We see a movie and hit up no fewer than 3 malls. We have eaten turkey dinners at various restaurants around Cambridge and have even cooked for ourselves a few times.

And every year, a few hours after my mom has left, I find a present hidden somewhere, usually under my pillow or under the blankets of my unmade bed. It is always wrapped in Christmas print paper or in colored tissue paper carefully placed in holiday gift bag. One year I found flannel pajamas, another year Betty Crocker's Cookie Book, and this year I was oh so excited to open the bag to find an Aunt Sadie's Candle that smelled of balsam. (My mom knows I have been in love with these seasonal treats since I received one as a gift last summer that smelled of coconut.) Along with the surprise, my mom always includes an advent calendar. This is a tradition that goes back to when I was little and couldn't wait to open the door to find the mini treasure it hid each day of December.

So, to mark the beginning of the season, tomorrow my house will be filled with the scent of balsam and I will be opening the first door of December.