news-record.com

As I write this Jan. 5, my son Christopher is outside meticulously unwrapping the strands of lights from around our porch that just a few short weeks ago we hung so carefully. It’s just another step in the process of packing Christmas in a box now that the holiday is over.

We are trying our best to get each and every piece inside before another round of possible snow flurries come in the hours and days to come. It is always a difficult balance to find a day or two where things have dried out enough to bring inside to pack away before snow or clouds filled with rain fill the sky again.

Last year it was late in the month of January before we finally were able to pack up our Santa inflatable. Because of all the cold and snow that we had during that period, Santa had developed a baseball sized ice cube in his hat. Day after day I waited for that ice ball to melt so we could put him away. Eventually I felt somewhat conspicuous as the only family on our street with Christmas decorations still displayed. We brought in Santa to thaw inside of our warm house, packing him away a week later when he was finally dry.

At least this year, Santa does not have any ice formed that will need to melt, so we’ll be able to pack him away just as soon as my husband can retrieve the empty boxes from the attic.

Until that day, all of our outdoor ornaments will be sprawled out between our dining room and living room on the floor on towels. It will drive me crazy to have all the mess spread from one side of the house to the other, but is a necessary step so that everything can dry out properly.

Our Christmas tree was taken down last week, much earlier than we usually take on the chore of undoing everything we worked so hard to get “just right” only a few weeks ago. It always seems a bit unjust that taking down decorations and packing them away only takes a fraction of the time it takes to decorate in the first place.

Perhaps part of the reason it takes so much longer to decorate is that I savor each moment, each decoration. It’s the one time of the year that we look at each piece and rediscover the joy it brings. December is such a magical time as we sit in anticipation of that special day.

January becomes December’s antithesis as the lights dim, the decorations are quickly packed away and we hear the silence that falls after so many rounds of rocking around the Christmas Tree. It’s always a bit sad to pack away the decorations, lights and lawn ornaments as it is just so hard to finally declare the special season “over.” A part of me would love to leave them out a bit longer, savoring the memories and the good cheer they seem to be a part of.

I know, however, that part of the reason Christmas is such a special time is that we only celebrate it once a year. We only bring these certain decorations out for this one month (or two depending on how long it takes us to pack them back up again after the season is over). To have them out indefinitely would make them less special.

We still have our ball root tree to plant in the ground and a few Christmas Legos that need to be packed away before we completely shut the door to Christmas 2010. As usual, just as one savors hot chocolate on a cold winter day, I will savor the new memories made this past Christmas long past the day when the last box is put in the attic and our Christmas tree has been firmly planted in the backyard.

Good bye Christmas, we will see you again next year.

Linda Vestal is a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend living in Gibsonville. Contact her with comments or story ideas at lindavestal@triad.rr.com.