what day is it again?

Is it really only three days until Christmas? It seems impossible to me. It seems as though everytime I look at the calendar I am suprised again to see that it actually is December. I don't have any of the normal external cues to tell me that Christmas is approaching. I don't have the cold weather (although I hear in Atlanta its been above 70), I don't see Christmas lights on houses, I don't hear Christmas music every time I turn on the radio, and I haven't even put any decorations up at my own house (they are a bit hard to come by here). I will say that I'm glad to be away from some of the craziness of the holiday season but the truth is that I miss parts of it too. Its fun to see the lights, and to go shopping for presents to give to family and friends. And all that good traditional holiday food! That I will definitely miss! What I will miss the most is spending time with family. Earlier this week I made gingerbread cookies and that helped me to get into the holiday spirit but its still not the same. To me it still feels like Christmas in July. Maybe that's a good thing though . . . I pray that this year I will experience Christmas in a new way. Without all the other busyness going on around me I will be able to focus on the real reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.