Said the night wind to the little lamb: Do you see what I see? Way up in the sky, little lamb? Do you see what I see? A star, a star, dancing in the… middle of the afternoon, with a tail as big as… a Christmas Tree made exclusively of Christmas lights.

So there I was, enjoying a nice afternoon walk on a warmer than average fall day, on my way to check in on Milo the Bookstore Cat, when, much to my surprise, I am greeted by the early stages of the Cathedral Square Christmas Tree. The leaves on the trees have only barely started to fall, and yet, the Christmas season is apparently already beginning.

Now, for those of you who don’t know, I love Christmas. Love isn’t strong enough of a word. I absolutely ADORE Christmas. It’s my favorite time of the year, and as soon as the calendar hits November 1st, my soundtrack turns to all Christmas, all the time. That means it’s time for sweaters, time for hot chocolate, and time for cheer.

If you take a look at the date, you may notice that it’s not November. Not only that, we’re only barely halfway through October! Sure, I probably should have seen this coming when I saw the Christmas display in full force at Menards over the weekend. But that’s at a store! Not in, basically, the town square of Milwaukee!

Although I would love for it to be the Christmas season right now, it’s not. It’s spooky season! It’s the time for pumpkins and witches and crunching leaves and wearing something way too heavy in the morning so you’re sweating by the early afternoon! Not the time for tinsel and candy canes and reindeer and forgetting to order presents until December 21st and having to pay exorbitant shipping prices!

Due to heavy winds the past couple of days, the leaves are starting to fall off pretty heavily. There are plenty of chances to crunch through them on your walk. There are pumpkins on stoops. Ghosts and goblins run rampant through the streets. It’s still Halloween season. Let’s slow down on the Christmas stuff for now, okay?

Trust me, when it hits November 1st, I will be the holliest, jolliest person out there. But for now, I’m still gorging myself on Halloween candy that I’ll definitely be handing out on the 31st. Let me have this!