Well folks, I have two days left of Halloween Horror Nights. That's right, two days! It seems like just yesterday that I got the job and quickly moved back down to Orlando. When I first got down here, there was a period where I wasn't working and I was just auditioning for anything and everything. Once HHN started, I barely had time to sit down. I'm getting used to being the busybee that I used to be and I enjoy that a lot! I loved having a full work schedule again, I didn't realize how much I missed it. I'm so grateful for this opportunity, it got me back to Orlando, back to Universal, and back to a familiar way of life for me. And for those of you who haven't heard, I got cast in the Macy's parade at Universal for the Christmas season. So after a couple weeks of downtime and Thanksgiving with my family in sunny Florida, I'll begin rehearsals for that.
It is November 1st. For those of you who know me well, this day is significant because this is the day I start listening to Christmas music (and hopefully the day Starbucks has their red cups!) I'm a Christmas nut, it's my favorite time of year and I like to get prepared early. Everything about Christmas makes me smile, plus my birthday is just a few weeks before Christmas so the weeks leading up are always fun. However, this year, I found myself dreading November 1st as time crept closer. This is my first Christmas without Dave. I hated the fact that I was dreading Christmas this year, that's never happened. But it's going to get here whether I like it or not and somehow, I need to get myself past this "first". When I first got back to Orlando, I told my friends how I was feeling. All of them said the same thing: that they know times will be hard but they were willing to step up this season and make sure that this is one of the best Christmases I ever had. I wanted to believe everyone but mostly, I wanted to know that I would have some work lined up for the holidays. I just felt like if I had some kind of Christmas related job, it would help me a lot and keep me semi distracted from the fact that Dave was not here with me. I kept asking God to change my heart, I didn't want to be bitter this season. It wasn't until about two weeks ago when I received the news that I had been cast in Macy's that my views of this Christmas finally changed and I found myself looking forward to it again, just like I did when I was a kid!
Christmas isn't just a fun time of year, it's also when I celebrate the birth of my savior. Had it not been for Jesus's birth, we would have no hope for eternal life and I would lose any chance of seeing Dave and all my other loved ones again. But that's not the case, Dave was a man of God and he's preparing for his first heavenly Christmas. He loved this time of year just as much as I do and never objected when I blasted my music on November 1st, he actually encouraged it. We were both like little kids again but we also remembered the real reason we celebrate is for God and the gift He gave us in His Son. Dave would not want me or any of us who loved him to be down in the dumps this year. He still wants me to be the same Kate that went nuts during Christmas, drank peppermint mochas and caramel brulee lattes every day, and trek down to Disney to see the Osborne lights and the Candlelight Processional. And I could hear him on this Halloween night nudging me to turn on my Christmas music when I got home. There's no reason not to. I've got a job for the holidays, I have amazing family and friends who are wanting to celebrate this time with me, and I have a Savior who deserves an amazing birthday celebration.
As I typed this blog on November 1st, I opened up my Spotify Christmas list and turned on Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You. And now all I want to do is listen to all of my Christmas songs and go get a peppermint mocha in the Starbucks holiday cup :) it looks like I won't be a grinch this year after all. There will be some bittersweet moments for sure but overall, it's going to be a beautiful season, just like God intended for it to be. There's always a reason to be joyful, even if it's just seeing those gorgeous sparkling crystal lights on Cinderella Castle <3
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