This morning I finally accepted that it’s time to start taking down the decorations: the cards on the mantel, the lights in the window, the tree that still stood splendidly decorated in a corner of our living room. This afternoon I went downstairs and got the empty boxes and began plucking ornaments off the tree.
My boyfriend and I don’t like to rush the process of taking down the Christmas tree. We put it up a month ahead of time and we think it’s reasonable to leave it up for a month after the holiday is past. Why do others (businesses, especially) put up decorations weeks and weeks ahead of time, but have it all down by the day after New Year’s? It makes no sense.
So, yes, all of our yuletide cheer was still solidly in place until today at about 3:45 p.m. Now I’ve taken the first step and put the tree decorations away, but the rest of it is still up. We don’t like to rush these things.
(Okay, I can no longer call my boyfriend, my boyfriend. On Christmas Day he proposed and now he’s my fiance. From now on, I’ll call him my fiance, until he’s my husband).