ON FUN ~ Don't Mind The Tree...

One downfall to having a fake Christmas tree is the fact that it doesn't die. The natural browning effect is a nice cue to take down your tree and get it out of the house before those endless dry needles permeate every nook and cranny. The fake tree is truly ever-green. It looks exactly the same from the day you put it up to the day you take it down. Some would say, it holds up well. The danger in this is that it doesn't prompt you to get your ass in gear and un-decorate it. You have to remember to do this all on your own.

I felt that it was too soon and harsh to take down the tree on New Year's weekend. I mean really - do you realize how long it took me to get the thing up to begin with? Bit by bit I would hang a few more ornaments on the tree from day to day, during one of Sammy's naps or when he was awake and content to hang nearby, watching me decide which item to hang where. All of that extended decorating time meant that the tree could stay for an extra weekend after the holiday festivities came and went.

The following week I developed a truly nasty cold that grew with determination from a sore throat to a cough to a melon head stuffed up like no one's business. I didn't have the energy to pick up Sammy, much less take down the tree. Somehow, my cold never infected the boy, or the husband. For this I am eternally grateful. Andy remained healthy and able to watch after Sammy and we didn't have to deal with a sick baby. And the tree was still pretty to look at while I sniffled on the couch.

Last week I was in recovery mode and finally found my way to the shower and ventured outside. I was sick of being stuck inside with that tree and decided that an ornament storage box would make the un-decorating business easier and somewhat exciting. I dragged Sammy to four different stores in search of a box. At every turn I was told that they had sold out the week before, or packed up the holiday stuff in exchange for the next holiday's trappings. I looked online for one instead. The only one that I liked was not sold online - in stores only. But no longer in stock in the stores - seasonal item. Foiled again.

By the time Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday came and went, the electric bill had arrived to let us know how much more our bill had become because of all of those Christmas lights - inside and out. The tree went dark. Maybe if we didn't turn it on, it would blend more nicely into the green wall behind it.

Sammy turns six months old next week. In celebration, perhaps I'll light up the tree one last time and find a few moments here and there to take it all down. Then again, I could leave it up for his first birthday - give that Christmas in July business a try.