Where has the year gone? Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror and now Christmas is less than three weeks away.

Honestly the passage of time, flying by as it does, is mind-boggling. I never put much stock into it when the ‘old folks’ in my life warned that the years go by faster the older you get. Well, now I am one of those ‘old folks’ and it definitely is true.

They also said you are ‘as young as you feel’ and that’s a good one, at least on some days. Saturday, Dec. 1 – which happened to be my birthday – was one of those rush from here to there and back again days, with multiple events on the schedule.

It’s the kind of day that, as a small town newspaper editor, is the best because you know there are plenty of stories and photos to come out of that one day to help fill the pages and add some flavor to the weekly edition. These days, though, it also reminds me that I’m not as young as I used to be; by event number six I was definitely starting to run out of gas.

Nevertheless, it was a double duty day as well, since I was able to get some holiday shopping done at a couple of these events after the camera and notebook were put away. And I got to make s’mores with my daughter at Escalon’s Christmas on Main after the holiday parade and the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus, something that has been one of our holiday traditions through the years.

S’mores, in fact, are part of the plans for her wedding. She and her fiancé are slowly getting everything lined up and are enjoying switching some things around; they probably aren’t even going to have a cake, opting instead for donuts and s’mores. It’s their day and there’s no rule that says you have to have a cake so, the way I see it, let them eat s’mores. The wedding is also at an outdoor venue so some fire pits might be nice. In case the late October weather turns a bit chilly.

But here we are in December and just a few issues remain in the year; we are getting ready for a crazy schedule. Christmas and New Year’s each fall on a Tuesday, which is normally deadline day for Escalon and Oakdale. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are Mondays, the normal deadline day for Riverbank. It’s a schedule which means that all three papers will be done for those two weeks on Monday. Hopefully we can get them done sooner rather than later so we all get to go home a little early on the holiday eves and enjoy a rare Tuesday off.

Used to be I did a lot of last-minute wrapping on Christmas Eve and, try as I might, it seems there are still too many items to wrap that night and I end up staying up much too late to get it done. So getting home from work earlier could help. We’ll see. It is one of my own traditions, I guess, procrastinating on the wrapping until the last minute. At least some of the gifts have been purchased. I also promised my dad some homemade cookies so there are those to bake, wrap and ship out so they get to the east coast in a timely fashion. He was quick to mention that he and my mom have oatmeal at their house and neither would complain if I wanted to come and bake cookies there. Tempting as that is, I’ll have to bake and ship for the holidays, but will also make sure to plan a visit back home in the spring and bake cookies while I’m there.

Here’s hoping you all enjoy this holiday season, get to share it with loved ones and ring in a healthy and happy 2019.

Marg Jackson is editor of The Escalon Times, The Oakdale Leader and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 847-3021.