I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade, into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way.

It’s almost time for the tradition that is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I grew up watching this parade. All the floats and big balloons. The marching bands. The Broadway stars. Santa always ended the parade, signaling the start of the Christmas season. Of course retail has dictated that the start of the Christmas season start shortly after the 4^th of July (I’m only slightly kidding) … but when Santa came at the end of the parade always signaled the start of Christmas in my house. That was when we could start putting up Christmas decorations. . . while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to be cooked.

Then, gee, it’s been about 12 years, we traveled to NYC to spend the holiday with relatives – and to attend my Grandparent’s surprise 50^th wedding anniversary party. Included in the slate of events for that weekend was a trip to the parade. Long ago my grandfather had a secretary. Back in the day that they were called secretaries. She quit being his secretary to become a NYC police woman. She remained really good friends with my grandparents throughout the years. She was retired from the police department at that time, but still had connections. She used these connections to get seats in the grandstands in front of Macy’s. If you’ve ever watched the parade on TV – that’s where all the marching bands and singers and dancers perform. Right there in Harold Square. It was pretty exciting. However. There were 7 of us going to the parade. My mom, my dad, my two brothers, my boyfriend at the time (who’d made the long car ride with us), and my mom’s cousin’s soon-to-be step-son. There were 4 seats in front of Macy’s. Guess who didn’t get to sit in the Grandstands. Yup. Me, my boyfriend, and my youngest brother Stephen. Stephen and I still give everyone a hard time about it to this day .. ah, yes, but we got to ride in a cop car to our assigned corner – which in all fairness was right up the block from the grandstands, but we couldn’t see the performances, and didn’t get to sit down. It rained. But it was still a lot of fun.

Then, several years later, we were back in NYC for my mom’s cousin’s wedding. We ventured out to the parade again. This time our vantage point was in Time’s Square. It was SO cold, and very windy .. one of the years that someone got injured from a wayward balloon. But again, it was fun.

They tell you on TV how big those balloons are. That they are 20 stories high, or whatever they are – but it’s not really until you see them in person that you can appreciate the sheer magnitude of them. It’s pretty awesome. The lose something on TV after seeing them in person, but they are still my favorite part of the parade.

I hope one day to take Clayton to the parade too, but until then, we’ll snuggle up on the couch on Thanksgiving morning, and watch it on TV – and hopefully this will give him some good Thanksgiving morning memories.