Don't make me get out of this...
(Of course, I refer to the robe only, a Christmas gift from Aleks and Peter.)
....or these...
(a gift from Tom's mother)
...to make me deal with this...
and this...
and this...
...and especially this -- a dry, droopy, dismal fire hazard of a tree that the cats have used as their playground for the past month...
Look at that mess -- and she's just plotting her next attack! Do you see any shame or remorse in those evil eyes? Neither do I. Today, I'm taking the playground away!
As much as I love putting up the tree on the early December weekend when we bake cookies, listen to carols, and sip spiced cider, I hate the cold day in early January when I (singular) take down the tree, sweep the dry needles, stuff everything back into Christmas bins, and cram it all back into the closet under the steps.
Last year I decided to have a little fun with it all and I told the picture story of the Christmas Decoration that Wouldn't Leave, but this year I have no time for such frivolity because I have a job that is going to kick my butt with an unrelenting fury starting again on Monday morning, and I have to set aside time to mentally prepare for the insanity that's to come in the next few months as I get sucked right back into the mind-numbing world that is Microsoft.
What happened to my creativity, my independence, and my focus on education and changing the world for kids and families in ways that matter, you ask? (You are asking that, are you not?) I dunno, my friend. I do not know. But I miss it. I miss producing cool media that makes people think. I miss feeling that what I do is important in a change-the-world sort of way. I miss being a renegade instead of a cog. And I miss feeling energized, rather than exhausted, by my job. It's a job I'm grateful for and I'm surrounded by great people. But I'm a worker now -- just a worker -- instead of a writer, a designer, a producer, a developer, or a creator of anything innovative or important.
I guess I just need to be OK with that.
I hate taking the stuff down. It's such a drag. I guess the anticipation is gone. I wish people would leave their outside lights up longer. Winter has barely begun and it's long and dark. The lights make it all pretty. I decorate with lights all year round.
ReplyDeleteIt is depressing to take down the tree and put away the decorations. It's a singular around here too-ME.
ReplyDeleteWe took our tree and all the other decorations down yesterday. I'm lucky, I don't have to do it by myself. I'm also lucky in that none of our three cats bother with the tree or decorations. I had a cat years ago that knocked over the whole tree one night. What a mess!
ReplyDeleteI hate taking the decorations down too.
ReplyDeleteAs for the job, I think it has to do with a cruddy economy and four kids in college, but that's just my outsider view.
We need more info on that yummy bathrobe! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe yummy bathrobe is from Bath and Body Works. It's soft, soft, soft... and really difficult to part with every morning! It's yummy even without the hood, but the hood makes it positively delectable!
ReplyDeleteCarol
oooh, i am not looking forward to de-Christmasing our house. it is always so anti-climatic. and a ton of work!
ReplyDeleteUrgh. We always try to have all the Christmas stuff put away by the 6th and it's staring me in the face right now. I could use a bathrobe like that to hide in!
ReplyDeleteI just heard from my mother that they got another 20 cm of snow in Vancouver - hope you guys won't get dumped on again as well!
I do hate the after Christmas clean-up! And ... I think good things are in store for you and your will find a way to be creative and write and have fun - I know you will!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and your family!
Kellan
since we are in the very rare event of seeing snow outside..I decided to leave our (artificial) tree until it's melted. It seems so appropriate to have a tree with snow.
ReplyDelete