Lost Between

The fiendish festivities of All Hallow’s Eve have long since passed. Children, and children at heart, are done toiling away at cobbling costumes, and the pining for candy has all but been forgotten. Another holiday looms on the horizon, with it the promise of gifts, goodies, and wishes held for the entire year fulfilled. The promise of snow, even where there never is any, weighs heavily, and even without a flake, the cold entrance of winter reminds us of seasons past.

Somewhere in between, the month of November is lost. As soon as the shops’ Halloween displays go down, it seems as though the Christmas ones go straight up. Thanksgiving is given the barest of acknowledgement, overshadowed by the coming Black Friday, itself a ritual “celebration” of the month to come.

November is also National Novel Writing Month, (referred to affectionately by its proponents as NaNoWriMo). The goal is, essentially, to write a 50,000 word novel in the span of the month’s 30 days. I learned about this from an old friend’s blog a few years ago. At the time, I thought it was a silly exercise in absurdity, but this year I decided to give it a try. I dismally failed before the month was even up, but it was a fun, exciting experiment, one I’d love to try, in earnest, next year.

But I thought of her, and the many friends that have slipped through the cracks over the years. The many personified Novembers that have been left behind. It’s the kind of void that cannot be repaired with a friendly email or a short chat. Somehow such endeavors always fall away. The strength of that November hole is too strong, lost between the days and months and years of our lives.

Jellyfish, Nikki, Kelly, all the Returners, and everyone else I’ve ever called a friend, or have known me as one…I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.