Postponing Christmas

Back in the day my husband was working for a retail chain's help desk while going to seminary. Working for retail meant that the day after Thanksgiving, he was at work helping poor store clerks with computer problems during the Black Friday sales. Better than being in the store with impatient shoppers, but still not a job I'd want. Because I worked for a publisher we had the day off. This mean that I could either spend the day shopping or do what I normally did with any day off—hunker down and not leave the house for anything, anything, anything. I always chose the latter. (I think I'm part hobbit . . . or is that hermit?)

Figure 1.  The cookies I was making when I probably should have
been bringing Christmas decorations down from the attic. 

But those days were not unproductive. I spent Black Friday cleaning the house and decorating for Christmas. By the time my hubby got home, everything was done except the ornaments for the tree. I had the tree up and the lights on. I had the wreath on the door. I had changed out some pictures and set up the nativity scene (on even years it was the white porcelain Lennox set my Grandma Foote had gotten for us as a wedding present; on odd years it was the multi-colored porcelain set Zach's former pastor had given us as a wedding present). I had the Christmas hand towels on the fridge door (compulsively made by my aunt down in Florida and shipped up to us in November every year). All that was left to do was trim the tree.

Figure 2.  Friends that were over Sunday night when I probably should have
been bringing Christmas decorations down from the attic.

Our one Christmas tradition has been to trim the tree together while listening to our favorite audio book of all time, John Grisham's Skipping Christmas read by the talented Dennis Boutskaris. And we used to do this the day after Thanksgiving. But when Zach became a pastor and didn't work that day, we started visiting family overnight. And then we had a baby. And the Christmas decorating has been pushed off bit by bit. As of today, there are still no Christmas decorations up in my house despite the fact that Advent started yesterday. In years past this would have frustrated me no end, but I'm strangely unconcerned this year.

Figure 3.  More of the boys on the couch because who can get enough of
something this gall-darn cute?

Perhaps it's because it's been such a warm November that it feels like October and I haven't even finished raking the back lawn for the last time. But I know that eventually we will pull stuff out of the attic and start listening to Skipping Christmas. I know it will eventually get done. And I have made some preparations already, clearing the mantle and moving a few things and cleaning up a bit.

Figure 4.  My progress thus far.

Maybe we'll get a start on it tonight.