It Will go by in a Flash

By Paul Morrone, CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

Halloween is merely an appetizer leading to the main courses of the holiday season. From mid-November through New Year’s Day, the last two months of the year are nothing short of a blitzkrieg. Hampered by COVID fears the past two years, the holidays seem to be back in full force and here in the Morrone household we have a full calendar. We’ll have late night parties for the adults, brunches with the kids and will get plenty of family, friends and food (& drink). Stir in some travel, out of town houseguests and holiday shopping and I’m anticipating a January holiday hangover to rival the worst Sunday mornings in college.  

Chaos aside, it is exciting. And living through it with the kids has brought a new joy to the holiday season I never knew existed. While we’re not in full-blown Christmas mode just yet, the spirit is alive and well. It all started when Amazon and Kohls mailed us their holiday catalogue, which put Christmas – and Christmas presents – top of mind ever since. We’re making lists for Santa, watching the Grinch and making holiday cards. Even Ryan is into it. Most importantly, the boys are learning the joy of giving gifts as well as receiving them and they have been big supporters of our Toys for Tots toy drive here in the office.

Beyond the anticipation of Christmas morning, the boys are now old enough to enjoy the social aspects of the holidays. We’re always talking about their cousins, who we are going to see, how old they are, who their parents are, where they live, etc. Especially these past few years, we haven’t seen our family as much as we normally would have, which makes this year even more exciting. 

As we continue to ramp up for the holidays, I made a promise to myself to enjoy each and every moment before they become memories. Not an easy feat when life is coming at you at 100 miles per hour. If 2020, and to some degree 2021, taught us anything it is that spending time together is something we all took for granted. Our goal as a family is to make sure that never happens again.  

From all of us here at US Wealth Management, we wish you a very happy holiday season and remind you to enjoy these times to the fullest.

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