Yes, dear readers, today I took down my Christmas decorations. I started it yesterday and finished the task today, just a few days short of Epiphany, which is my personal cutoff day for decorations. (If you don't know, Epiphany is traditionally the day where the wise men are celebrated. It is also the twelfth day of Christmas.) The trick is to find that sweet spot of time where you're not yet completely over seeing the lights and stockings and tree, but not still so joyful at seeing them around that you'll be sad every time you look around. If I take them down too early then it just seems sad and depressing, but if I wait too long then the task is nothing but a big pain in the ass because I JUST WANT THEM GONE!! Today was the sweet spot.
I admit to feeling just a bit bummed as I take everything down and put it back in the boxes. I love my Christmas mugs and plate set and seeing the candles in my windows and the lighted garland above my kitchen counters makes me smile. The apartment always looks a little bare and empty when I don't have those to look at. When I ate my cereal out of my usual bowl this morning and drank my coffee out of one of my every-day mugs, there was a bit of a let down. But as I loaded up my totes there was definitely a sense of relief as well. Have you ever noticed how putting up the decorations seems to take almost no time at all and doesn't even seem like work? Complete opposite today. It seemed to take forever and even at times got a bit annoying. Or maybe that was the plotline on today's Bold and the Beautiful. Either way, without the sense of anticipation, it felt like work.
And I guess that's where the depressed part of taking down the decorations comes in to play. There's no anticipation, nothing to look forward to. Instead I'm just looking at months (and months) of winter and cold and snow and gray skies. Today was our first real winter day with temperatures hovering around 10 degrees and windchills around 0. It's been snowing lightly most of the day and my heaters have been working hard to keep my little studio apartment warm. Sure, I start school up again in a few weeks and there's a couple youth retreats I'm looking forward to this month, but other than that..... nothing. At least when I take down Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations there's a holiday immediately following, but not so much. Well, yeah, there's Valentine's Day, and yes I do have decorations, but it's nothing like Christmas.
I remember once my mom told me that every year when she puts away her Christmas decorations she wonders where she'll be when she gets them out again the following holiday season. What will have changed in her life? What ups and downs will have occurred? Ever since then I find myself wondering the same thing. I know that if you had told me a year ago what my life would've gone through, there are things I wouldn't have believed. 2015 was a roller-coaster year, but so much good happened and I ended the year on such a positive note that I can only hope 2016 equals it. I know I will look back on some things and wish I had done them differently or wish they hadn't happened. This is true of life. But I also know there will be things I will be glad happened to me and experiences I will never forget. So maybe as I stare at my boxes waiting to be stored at my mom's (studio apartment with no storage space = thankful for nearby family) that can be the anticipation that makes today a little less depressing: anticipation of the possibilities of 2016. Anticipation of everything that this next year will bring me and the growth I will encounter. I've got a good feeling about this year and I can't wait to see where I'll be when these decorations go up in November.
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| Rocky's not ready to let go of Christmas yet. |
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