Ah, the holiday season.

The time of excruciatingly-cold temps and expanded waistlines.

It’s amazing that so many people shop during the other 11 months on the calendar, yet this is the only time of year a 73-year-old woman will wield a machete if someone attempts to take the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots she wants to buy her grandson for Christmas.

This is the time to reflect on the things — good and bad — this year has brought us, and it’s a good idea to do that with family.

I love this time of year. There’s two days — Thanksgiving and Christmas — where you can eat like Joey Chestnut and nobody asks if you have a tapeworm or assumes you’re depressed.

It’s also one of the few times of year that families get together just to have some fun, reminisce and laugh at things they did in the past. Oddly enough, the only other time this happens on a regular basis is at funerals.

I know people who look at this time of year like it’s the worst thing ever. I’ve never looked at it like that because as people get older, things change. You spend less time with your family (Mother, Father, etc.) because you’re trying to start your own. I cherish this time of year, for no other reason than I get to bother the hell out of my aunts and cousins.

I would put my Mom in that category, but she gets it all the time. I'm not sure, but I could be the only person I know who tells his mother she's, um, "smuggling raisins" when it's cold in her house. Sometimes she deserves it. Once she told me Barry Sanders was a linebacker. She had a thing for Dontrelle Willis, too, but couldn't even tell me what position he played. I didn't expect her to know, though. The only thing she knows about pitchers is that you fill them with lemonade.

People always say they’re going to take more time out of their schedules to spend with family, but these days, that’s almost impossible, what with hectic work schedules and everything else. So this 30-some odd day period — from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day — should be reserved for catching up with relatives.

I think I’m pretty good about making sure I allocate time for my family, whether it’s through a phone call, e-mail, or text message. Modern technology has pretty much taken away any excuse anyone has for not keeping in touch with friends and family, so it’s pretty much unacceptable to not take a couple seconds and call someone to talk.

I know it’s cliché, but we all need to learn to cherish the people we say we care about because they could be gone in the blink of an eye.

So enjoy the holidays with your folks.

And watch out for little old lady's in the malls.