Putting It Away

I tried very hard to wait until January 1, but I couldn't.  I put it all away today.  (When my kids were little, the day to put it away was January 6, The Feast of the Epiphany and the twelfth day of Christmas.)

What is "it" then?  Christmas, of course.  Today I took down the tree and the wreath, the stockings and the Santa Clauses, the elves and the snowpeople, the skates and the bells, the pine boughs and the lights, the glitter and the gold.  I will admit, it's all sitting on the floor of my bedroom, waiting to be put in the right boxes and stored in the attic.  But it's out of the living room and dining room and kitchen.  Like it never happened.

Okay, I'm not being a Grinch here.  If I was truly a Grinch, I would never have gotten it all out in the first place.  But I do find some satisfaction in being done with it, in putting it away.  It's like the last day of school in June.  It was a good run, but there is joy in putting it away until September.

So now there is this facade of normal.  My living room, though comfortable enough in appearance, is not artificially decked out in pinecones and scented candles.  The Christmas china has been replaced by winter white plates.  And my mantle is now devoid of elves.  Thank god.

Perhaps my eagerness in putting it away has more to do with my eagerness to move on.  I am ready.  For what, I'm not sure.  But there is great promise in bidding farewell to what is past and anticipating . . . with a degree of excitement, yes . . . what is to come. 

More on that tomorrow.  For tonight, I am in love with putting it away.