Christmas week: The ornament box

Ah me. The decorations are finally up. It’s all over but the shouting. Oh, and the tree. It’s ready for ornaments.

I volunteer to organize the Christmas tree ornament box every year. I love to reach in and pull out each tissue-wrapped treasure, slowly peeling away the layers of paper to reveal some small memory. Some are funny, some bittersweet. But, for me, our ornaments create a holiday mosaic of lives well lived (or so I think) – thanks to loving family, friends and a few assorted pets.

So Saturday, as snow fell steadily on Bermtopia, I opened the ornament box and began to peel away tissue paper, reveling in a flood of memories like these:

Little towheaded (or “toad-headed” as Number 2 Son used to say) boys

My grandparents’ Christmas trees,

classic with these ornaments

and old-skool tinsel

Our first ornaments

Sweet friends, near and far

Hand-crafted treasures straight from the heart

Note: This was from the N2S’ Minimalist Period

The special contributions only pets can provide

(Yep, that's right -- the dog chewed Santa's bum)

And finally, the "It's weird, but it works and we love it!"

The first of December

December 1.

It is now safe to move around the holiday-decorating cabin.

People, people, people

Why do you torment me so and put up CHRISTMAS decorations in MID-NOVEMBER? Is it too much to ask that we digest our Thanksgiving dinners and take at least one tryptophan-induced nap first?

What's the rush? Are you going on safari and won't be back till the 24th? Or are you one of those pie-eyed holiday romantics with a drawer full of theme sweaters replete with sequins and appliqued snowmen who starts intoning "I just love Christmas" as soon as the last firecracker goes off July 4th?

Don't get me wrong. I get as warm and fuzzy about Christmas as the next person. Heck, I even take artsy photos of my Christmas ornaments. But usually, say, in December? like when the holiday actually occurs? Yeah, I know, call me crazy but that's just the way I roll.



Oh, neighbor-whose-house-looks-like-something-out-of-a-Jingle-Bell-Rock-Theme-Park, please cease and desist with the dispensing of visual holiday cheer in early November. There are bigger, more urgent issues to address -- to brine, smoke or deep fry the Thanksgiving turkey, for example. For god sakes, people, I beg you, let's get our priorities straight here!

So put down that silk poinsettia, box up those twinkle lights and resist the urge to erect Inflatable Santa on the front lawn for a couple more weeks. I thank you. . . your neighbors thank you. . . holiday decoration retailers, maybe not so much.

Thank you. I feel better now.

Sunday, Nov. 14: Hmmmmmmm. Do you think Doug read my blog?