I'm getting soft

My Christmas lights are up. That may not seem like a big deal to a lot of people, but I am very much a fan and supporter of Thanksgiving. I get annoyed by people who say that Thanksgiving is all about gluttony and small pox. It's not. Thanksgiving was an idea from Sarah Hale, who was an editor and an author. She wrote "Mary Had a Little Lamb". I just learned that today. Interesting.
She was concerned that as a country we were losing our cultural identity in regards to food. This was way back in the 1800's. When you look at other countries, and how much importance is placed on food in their cultures, you can see how it has become less important in our culture. I'm not talking about fast food, or fried butter, or anything like that. I'm talking about understanding how to correctly prepare food, and make it taste good, and then sharing that with others. That's what Thanksgiving is. We often don't have the time or make the time to cook, and as a result our collective palates have been deadened to the point that Olive Garden tastes good to some people.
That is the whole point of Thanksgiving. It's a day to remember our cultural food identity, and be grateful for it, and for all we have. So brine that turkey (please please please don't stuff the bird), and enjoy the day.
Anyway, that was a tangent. My original point was that my Christmas lights are up, which is something I've always been against. But Mirinda and Priya get so excited by Christmas lights I couldn't help myself. They will stand out in front of the house with no coat on freezing just to look at the Christmas lights. We've gone to different stores to see 2 different dancing Santa's, and they bought they're ornaments for the year. (I got a TARDIS, it's pretty awesome). I still plan on enjoying Thanksgiving fully, but these girls are making me soft.
On Monday Priya has an appointment with a geneticist. They're concerned that all of the problems she has point to a genetic disorder. It's a sad and kinda terrifying thought, but we'd rather know if there's a problem, and do what we can to correct it, or to at least help the situation.
As always, thanks for reading! I know this is a shorter post, but I'm trying to get back to posting once a week. Happy Thanksgiving!