Where has the time gone? We’re now in the second week of November and I’m starting to see eggnog and smoked ham being sold in the front aisles at supermarkets again. And the less said about all the Christmas songs relentlessly playing on FM radio since the first of the month, the better. (Looking at you, 98.7 The River.) I feel like it was only yesterday when I started seeing gubernatorial campaign ads on You-Tube. What halcyon days those were. (Just kidding, I didn’t see any ads; I pay for YouTube Premium. Absolute game-changer in my house).

Thanksgiving is part of the “Big 3” of family-orientated holidays, alongside Christmas and New Years’ Eve (and/or Hanukkah if you’re Jewish). In my opinion, Thanksgiving is perhaps the most stressful of them all, because it essentially sets the tone for the rest of the year. If your Thanksgiving goes poorly, either through travel delays, overcooked turkeys, family members shouting about property taxes, etc., it’s hard to make up ground in December.

That’s why this year; it’s me and my humble air fryer against the world (my parents). We’ll be having a cozier dinner this Thanksgiving, because it’s better and infinitely more convenient than inviting half the family tree.

Ham is our usual centerpiece meal, because none of us really like turkey. My mom only cooked it when I was growing up more so out of cultural obligation; you know, being in America and all that. For me, carbohydrate is my middle name; the amount of mashed potatoes and black beans and rice I eat on Thanksgiving should be studied. But if you want your holidays to start off on the right track, dessert is a must. Pumpkin pie is a staple at my house, although some years, we’ve added tres leches cake and banana pudding. Readers: What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food? Share your thoughts with myself or Paul from Effingham via letters to the editor. Standard messaging rates apply.

Song of the week: I Could Be Madonna - Barry Can’t Swim, Sammy Virji

This was a song I heard on the Apple Music 1 radio station on my phone while I was doing some chores. A really good, bouncy house tune to help boost your energy during the workdays, which now feel shorter due to the end of Daylight Savings.

This may be controversial, but I actually don’t mind the clocks falling back in autumn and moving forward in spring. Sure, I like to groan about it (who doesn’t?) but I always just keep it moving. Plus, it gives us all something to look forward to. As a journalist, for example, I love reading the same health articles from the Associated Press every year on how not to lose your mind when it gets dark at 6 p.m. I never take up the advice, though.

Andrea Gutierrez is the managing editor of the Bryan County News. She never knows what time it is during the last two months of the year.