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Every year around Thanksgiving I go into shock. How did the year go by so fast? It’s almost Christmas once again. That means New Year’s is right around the corner.

Another year is about to fly away, never to be seen again. Another year older, and not much smarter. Still, life goes on even as I try to play catch up. It never happens. I never break even at the end of the year. There’s always something — let me be honest, lots of things — I never got around to doing even with the best of intentions. I’m afraid it will always be thus.

You may think I’m pushing it, talking about Christmas and New Year’s when we haven’t even popped the Thanksgiving turkey in the oven yet.

But many shopping malls, gated communities, and stores have put up their Christmas decorations already.

I’ve noticed that over the years the spirit of Christmas starts permeating our outside lives earlier each year. We start hearing the drumbeat about how many days there are until Christmas on the news, in ads on television and elsewhere, this year right after Labor Day.

I, for one, am having a hard time concentrating on Thanksgiving dinner with all this Christmas cheer in the air. As an American, Thanksgiving is a very special time for me. It shouldn’t be rushed into the oblivion of passing holidays so quickly. We should understand why the holiday is called Thanksgiving and not just think of it as the beginning of the holiday season. We should give thanks for all the abundance in our lives, but perhaps not when it means overeating.

For instance, my darling daughter has watched her diet all year with marvelous results. But because it’s Thanksgiving, she’s bringing six different pies for dessert. We’re having 16 people for dinner but six pies sounds like a formidable number. Thanksgiving means indulging in all the naughty foods we didn’t eat all year in one fell swoop. The holiday season is the call to the feasting table.

A slice of pie is never alone on the plate. It’s the whipped cream or vanilla ice cream added to that slice of pie that does us in. It’s the American way of life, a slice of pie and a scoop of ice cream. How can anyone resist? I know some remarkable people who actually can say no to overeating on the holidays, but I’m not one of them.

Thanksgiving once was one single night of feasting with visions of leftovers dancing in our brains for the next days to come. We had a week or so to catch our breaths before the Christmas carols started to play. Now Christmas festivities start immediately after Thanksgiving and there’s no time between to work off one meal, let alone a month’s worth of reckless gorging.

This is not to say I’m complaining. We are truly blessed in this country to have such a wonderful problem as too much food. And even though too many people overeat, become obese, have heart attacks and contract diabetes, I wouldn’t want to do away with the Thanksgiving dinners I love. They bring me beautiful memories of times with family and friends. The shared toasts and the feelings of warmth that fill our hearts on this day have a human value too precious to lose.

This year is no different. My family and friends will share our Thanksgiving dinner, where we will all toast our good fortune. We have much to be thankful for. Our brave ancestors came to America so that their progeny would have a better chance in life. I hope my great-grandparents are looking down at us during our dinner and hearing me say thanks to them with all my heart for the good life we have here in this great country.

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E-mail Barbara Bova at babova@naplesnews.com