Packing Up Christmas

The thing about the holidays is they are way too short for my liking. Everyone bitches and moans about Christmas decorations being in the aisles of their local Target the day after Halloween, but if I had my way, they’d be setting out twinkle lights in June. I always feel a bit down after the holidays, and this year is no different. Lucy and I have spent many an evening this past week wishing it was two weeks ago and we were back in that warm cabin in Colorado. Oh Christmas, I miss you so.

On Saturday I told Lucy we had to take down our decorations, and she begged for one more day. I knew what an undertaking it would be, so I easily gave in to her request. We spent one more glorious day with the Christmas playlist blasting from our stereo and playing with our gifts under the twinkling tree. “I wish it was Christmas everyday,” she declared.

Sunday I finally dug in. She begged some more, complaining that one kid in her class gets to have his tree up all year. I told her how leaving the decorations up all the time would make them less special. We talked about how fun it was to open up the boxes after Thanksgiving and find all of our old ornaments, retelling the stories of each one. How awesome it was to pull out the stockings we made a few years ago. How lovely it was to see something we hadn’t remembered we had. She finally agreed…it was time.

Our house looks so sad now. So plain and boring. I’ll probably go buy some flowers or a new plant to liven it up a bit. But I’d give just about anything for another day of twinkle lights.