Eight little black eyes peered at me from the fireplace mantel. They were inanimate eyes, so why did I clearly see mirth and more than a hint of taunting?
As you may recall, my sweet husband put up our Christmas tree* and other holiday decorations this year. I was simply too tired, or at least too unenthused, to drag the boxes from out of our head-banging, knee-bruising, cob-webby crawl space. Then, to seal his best-husband-ever status, he also took down the decorations.
I Woke Up One Morning And Poof! It Was Done…Sorta
Me: “Babe, did you mean to leave your mom’s mistletoe thingy hanging?â€
Him: “Nooooo. Shoot! I forgot it was there.â€
Me: “How about those little paper dolls from Slovakia on the mantel?
Him: “Ditto.â€
Me: “The wreath in the living room?
Him: “Forgot.”
Me: “Ah.â€
Silence
We looked at each other and left the unspoken words hanging like tinsel on a long-dead Christmas tree.
Neither of us said, “It’s okay. I’ll put them away.â€
Neither of us volunteered to go into the dreaded crawlspace.
And so, as of January 13, the little eyes continue to mock me from the warmth of the mantel, and the mistletoe sways gently from it’s paperclip hook. I only wish I could kiss it goodbye for another year.
putting the “hollow” in Halloween
Today, when I heard the doorbell, I realized the UPS guy had left a package. I stepped out to retrieve the box, and as I did so saw something I had missed earlier. There, on a bench near the front door, two small pumpkins sat frozen and abused. Halloween pumpkins. A chipmunk had been gnawing on one of them, which only added to the hideousness. I tried to pry them off, but they were NOT budging.
There Was Nothing Left to Do But Laugh
Accepting holiday decorations that refuse to go away? The best part of my day. How about you? Â Do you ever realize you forgot some obvious holiday item after everything else is put away?
‘Midlife Christmas Decorating Funk: How My Husband Revived My Spirit‘
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