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Topic: Start (01/16/06)
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TITLE: Start Retiring Christmas (520) | Previous Challenge Entry
By Carol Dee Meeks
01/23/06 -
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Christmas Village, and Pat’s Nutcracker collection in their places. From turquoise, black, and gray, we turn to green and red. And any place that looks good; a poinsettia will make it look better. We transform our living room into a Poinsettia Lane in a manner of ten days or so.
The poinsettias are lush of crimson, velvet and red. I display real ones. I exhibit silk ones, plastic ones and sequined ones. As I said earlier, poinsettias liven up our home this time of year. I marvel their beauty and elegance. I love seeing them in every spot and corner of our home. Poinsettias have always been a part of our Christmas celebration; not holly berries, but lots of poinsettias.
But when all the hustles and bustles are over, after all the Christmas visitors have gone, the tree stands empty, and the lush of my poinsettia lane disappears. I am forever in awe of how fast the scrumptious, delightful lane of red fades its color and perfection. Even the silk ones lose favor, and I notice sequins on the floor. I’m sad as they droop for I know it is time to start retiring Christmas.
“Are you going to save any of these flowers this year?” Pat asks when he notices me grouping them together to be thrown out.
“No, it is too much work. I’ll just buy new ones again next year.”
We toss them in the trash. This is the start of our retiring Christmas. We have more than twenty boxes of decorations. It takes four to five weeks to put all our ornaments back into their containers. The excitement of adorning and embellishing our home for the holidays dwindle with the realization of the work that lies ahead. The festoons are not as pretty now. They are not as fresh with holiday passion. The thrill gives way to dread, a slow motivator that has helped me shed a few pounds with the pace of putting them all away. It is a job in January I don’t relish or enjoy.
We start with the tree. No, we start with the poinsettias, then we put up the tree. Tomorrow we’ll let the angels start their annual slumber. It takes several days to get the nutcrackers tucked away. The Christmas village takes a while. We buy a new house every year, and they have to be put back into their individual box with patience and care. Pat doesn’t get involved in this part so it is my job.
I love Christmas. Someday I want a home so I can leave our Christmas village and the Nutcrackers out all year. Then starting Christmas will be easier and retiring it will be a snap. But this year as all our past years, we smile and say,
“We’ll have it completed in time to celebrate Valentines.”
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