“I want a clean cup!” interrupted the Mad Hatter, “Let’s all move one place down.”
“Clean cups! Clean cups!” cried the Dormouse, “Move down! Move down!”
Today is the 1st day of December and I am surrounded by boxes.
The Captain brought in all the boxes and crates of Christmas Decorations from the garage…. and for the last four days, my kitchen, dining, living room, and master bedroom look like we are just moving in.
There are Santa’s and candles and ornaments sitting where they were un-packed…. as I am using every bit of table or counter surface available to me, while my eyes reflect a more perfect, eventual landing place.
You see, I change up the Christmas decor each and every year….where-as if I applied the old KISS rule….(keep it simple stupid) all the unpacking would be easy and manageable.
But no, I decide to move the hand painted Nativity to the high shelf above the TV, which means rigging up more little white lights to back-light the manger scene…which means climbing up and down on the ladder…which means finding a place for the White reindeer which in years past have resided on that upper shelf.
You see my dilemma here folks? At the moment, nothing is in it’s Forever Home….in fact, the displays are not complete yet…just a little of this and a little of that.
I have to confess that some years, it seems harder than others to get in the Christmas Spirit… as I bring self-inflicted changes and then it becomes a matter of surviving the Holidays instead of enjoying them.
And then, there it is…the reminder of those who have touched my/our life.
And the Christmas Spirit fills my heart, as I tenderly hold the ornament from the Captain’s and my first Christmas together.
My heart swells as I place the little skater figures with stick hands from the Jan Karon Mitford Series of books in and among white fluffs of cotton representing snow. These three little characters were given to me 15 years ago by a dear friend, after we both had read all the Christian books of that series.
Then there is the Grief Wreath box and the poem sent to me by my bestest friend ever!
Every year, I light the 4 candles while reading the poem, as my children remember their father.
Many years, at least one of the children is on the phone as I read the poem….since we are all scattered hither and yon.
“Alice: How long is forever? White Rabbit: Sometimes, just one second.”
I plug in the little white lights surrounding the Nativity that I hand painted over 25 years ago and I see Bethlehem illuminated behind the backdrop of the manger….and yes, suddenly it is Christmas!
We still need “clean cups!” and a cleared place to put them…but I am working on it and the decorating is much easier now.
I promise I will devote a future post to all the decorating when I am finished.
Are you surrounded by boxes of decorations my dear readers? Have you started yet? Do you have a great system in place?
Share please!
Until then….Merry Christmas!
Sandy says
LOL My sister had everything decorated before Thanksgiving, and a good thing since she and hubby had to make a trip back to the mid-west for a funeral. Right before the holidays begin. So sad!
I haven’t started yet because I’m still working on cards. lol
Kari says
I hear ya Sandy….I addressed cards over the week end and got them in the mail…so proud of my “gettin’ er done early”….I think I was just putting off going through all these Christmas boxes! LOL thanks for stopping by.