You know that pathetic plate of Christmas cookies that linger on your counter top on the 26th of December? You know what I mean… those hard sugar cookies that still look edible, but, you know you could chuck them into the woods and knock out a bear one hundred feet away? Yes, those cookie crumbs. But, you don’t throw them away because you know if you just pop them in the microwave for three seconds they will soften up a bit and almost taste good?
I hope I am not the only one who hesitates throwing away the last remaining cookies in hopes of keeping the celebration going. Yes, I do confess I still have a paper plate filled with a few remaining goodies that will soon become housed in the trash can.
These are not the crumbs I am referring to, though. As I mentioned in my last post, Little Man and crew left late morning on the 26th. As I wiped my tears I realized we were leaving the following day for Florida. I looked around the fully decorated house and thought. I looked outside and thought. The weather was going to dip into the low digits while we were gone. We were going to be away from home for ten days. I knew I had to move, so move I did.
I went outside, removed the garlands, the bows, the lights, the nativity scene. I sort of reminded myself of the Grinch stealing the Who’s decorations. I moved quickly and soon it looked barren outside, well, except for the trees and the mulch. I took everything upstairs to the extra room we have. I placed everything in piles waiting to be put away.
Next I hit the guest room. I stripped the decorations off the tree in that room. I took down every hint of Christmas. I proceeded to go through each room, removing things on the walls and on top of tables. The house literally echoed with the absence of the fun things. I did not stop until evening. In between I did laundry and packed for our trip. It was a full day.
I stopped short of taking down the tree in the living room and the tree in the loft. I knew if I came home to a barren home, it would give me great sadness. So, now I am home. I have enjoyed my trees and the lights that I left on our stairs. It has allowed the celebration to stretch just a bit.
Yesterday I took all the decorations off the living room tree. It is standing looking dejected. A mere shadow of its former glory. Today I will pull out the bins and the boxes and fill them up, removing (hopefully) the piles so neatly organized in our extra room. I am not looking forward to doing this. Not that I want to keep Christmas going, I just don’t feel like lugging out the bins and the boxes and actually getting things put away.
I was debating doing any of this today, until, I sat down to look at my blog page. I sat on the couch, lifted my laptop onto my lap and glanced out of our french doors into the screen room. There, sitting out there was a huge Christmas crumb. A Christmas tablecloth on our outdoor table. A blatant reminder that it is time. Time to put it all away, time to store all the festivity, time to get myself moving.
So, I will close this out, and go deal with Christmas crumbs. Maybe I will start a new tradition, maybe I will make some cookies… I think I may deserve a nice fresh cookie and a cup of tea after I deal with the leftovers of Christmas. Thanks for stopping by, Cathi (DAF)
dearanonymousfriend 