By Regena Handy
Well, ‘tis the season. All the leftover turkey has been taken care of. No more turkey sandwiches this year. Thankfully, someone else ate the last piece of pumpkin pie — that’s one pound I can avoid. The yam casserole has been devoured and the gravy and creamed potatoes long gone.
Gone also are most of the pumpkins which decorated the porch steps, tossed into the vegetable garden for further decay. Who knows, one of its seeds might find its way into the soil and produce a life of its own come warm weather. The best watermelon we ever grew came up in the flower garden, sprouted from seeds discarded the year before. Just as we had several cherry tomato vines this year that grew without any help from us.
So it all begins. Though for many folks, it all started weeks ago, but I suppose with Thanksgiving Day behind us, its official now. Decorations and all the trappings of commercial Christmas appeared in stores in early fall. Holiday themed television programs and movies have been on-going for a while now. And everyone — well, almost everyone — has been busy putting up the tree and all the other decorative garnishments.
In years past, I looked forward to decorating for the Christmas holiday. Despite all the time and effort put into doing so, I truly enjoyed it. But these days due to less energy, health aggravations, and changes in our lifestyle, I have less motivation to do so. We have reduced in every way the whole Christmas preparation process.
While I do miss the results of those efforts to have a lovely celebration, I don’t yearn for the accompanying frustration. Let’s mull on that just a bit.
We will start with the Christmas tree. Until recent years we put up a fresh tree — a white pine or cedar cut from our own property or picked out at local tree farms. After hauling it to the house and finally getting it upright in its stand, then came the fun part.
The lights. (I think I just saw a bunch of husbands cringe at those two words.) The tangled wires, single bulbs or strands of lights that burn out as soon as the job is finished, muttered words that can’t be repeated here. We’ve even tried artificial pre-lit trees, but there again the lights burn out after a few uses.
Then there is the outside decorating. Somehow, I’ve always managed to pick the coldest day of the year to wire the wreaths and garlands and lights onto the house and gazebo. Despite my best efforts to foil the wind, I can always count on waking up several December mornings to find half of the decorations strewn in the yard and nearby fields.
Mercy, just talking about decorating has just about worn me out. So, should you happen to drive by my house this year, don’t be surprised if you don’t see too much in the way of holiday trimmings. In fact, there might still be a pumpkin sitting on the front step.
