Just finished undecorating the Christmas tree, a chore that is never fun, but certainly necessary to keep from looking like a forgotten cousin of the Beverly Hillbillies. I do know people who leave up their tree until Valentine's Day, changing from Christmas to Winter to Valentine's decorations. I just don't have the inclination to prolong a season that already seems to begin right after Labor Day.
There's something calming about removing the ornaments one by one, winding the ribbon garland back into a roll, putting the boxes back in order. It gives some order to the end of the season. Unlike the neighborhood department stores, nothing is on my floor, broken into a million pieces and 50-no-75-no-90% off. There's something very disheartening about seeing people fight over discounted tinsel, once the fa la la la las are gone, it's back to push and shove, every man for himself.
I love Christmas. But I also love the getting back to normal time that comes after Christmas. The continuing, and the starting over. It's hard to live up to Christmas expectations every single day. We hold our breath that our houses are clean enough, the presents are good enough, the food is tasty enough, until we finally realize enough is enough. We celebrate in November and December, we exhale in January.
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