Putting Christmas Away...

 It's sort of depressing, in a way...deciding when to put away the Christmas lights, the decorations, the tree, the memories, the hopes and dreams. There's that time that inevitably comes when we turn to each other, and ask, "When do you want to put Christmas away?"

Putting Christmas away...

We do the opposite of what we did only weeks earlier, drag out the large plastic tubs from the space under the stairs, snap open the lids and place things back where "they belong." For us, this year differed from all those before--we bought an artificial tree. This means, we were the sole determinators as to when the Christmas season of 2021 would begin (even though we always knew when it would end...). We no longer needed to climb in a cold car and travel to a distant tree lot to officially begin the holidays. 

We set up the tree Thanksgiving weekend.

The week between Christmas and New Years is a perfect time to tear down. I usually have days off from work and the family's usually together...perfect time. And if the weather cooperates, we'll take down the outside lights. There's an emptiness that invades the space once occupied by Christmas...where the tree stood, where the Christmas cards were placed, where the stockings hung and now were gone. The emptiness can never be fully replaced until those things are returned. Halloween lights and decorations try, but can't quite do it.

January is a tough act to follow. The build-up of the holidays, the excitement of possibilities, then January hits and--where we live, at least--is cold and sunless with bad air and once-white snow turning gray. Still, there's a beauty in January, if you only look.

Christmas boxes under the stairs get shuffled throughout the year. Other boxes leave and are returned until finally, the Christmas boxes come out again and we begin the cycle anew. The last thing I put away was our inflatable nativity scene. It needed to dry out completely, so for two days I plugged it in inside the garage until no water remained. Next year, before I unpack it, I need to find some lightbulbs...it's supposed to have six lights...only one remains now. Looks like I've got eleven months and change to get ready.

Happy Christmas...From TheTop Of Utah

 The family's chilling in the basement playing games. I took break to sneak outside and snap a quick photo...not the best photo, but you can see our little inflatable nativity scene and some newly-fallen snow. It's been a wonderful day.

Sometimes, like tonight, we feel a million miles away from others. We're only an hour north from where we once lived, but the distance feels sometimes (like tonight...) compounded. Then again, leaving the world behind and being gathered under one roof with your loved ones does not necessarily guarantee an isolated feeling, but it can be one of gratitude and reflection.

Navigating this world is not supposed to always be easy...there's a lot of pain, a lot of trails, roadblocks, things that get in your way. Yet, on the other hand, through the pain and heartache comes growth and development. Tonight I'm blessed to be surrounded by family. Many are not. Many have people missing at the dinner table, presents not under the tree for loved ones this year. I pray for their comfort, for we will all be them one day...if not this Christmas, then one in the future. One day that missing place, those missing presents will have been for us.

I hope all who this post reaches will enjoy the day, enjoy the time. I know if they reflect on others, it will be a good day. Happy Christmas from the Top of Utah! May your day be wonderful.

Give Thanks...For Neighbor Gifts At Christmas

 

Last year, we handed out gifts to neighbors...to people we didn't even really know. We'd only been in the neighborhood a few months and because of covid, we didn't spend a lot of time hanging out with...well, anyone. And they brought us tasty treats in return.

It's one of the things I love about Christmas and the accompanying traditions.

Why do we do this? And do people in other states and countries do the same? I know that, at least for us living in Utah, neighbors prepare plates of goodies and take them around to the neighbors. I spent three Christmases outside of the state (two of which outside of the country...) and to be honest, I can't really remember us doing the same thing when I lived away, though it's likely we did.

When I think about it, I'm pretty sure most people do kind things for neighbors at Christmas, for those who celebrate Christmas. Why wouldn't they? For the most part, people are generally good. If they weren't, society would not succeed. There must be a foundation of trust for humans to successfully interact, and trust can only exist when people are--for the most part--good.

I'm grateful to be surrounded by neighbors who take time out of their day to think about each other. I must admit that the treats we received from others have all been homemade, unlike the ones we passed out. Still, I'll put the butter cookies up against almost anything.

Last year, we knew almost no one here. Since then, a year has passed and I'm happy to say we know our neighbors better than we did twelve months ago. And next year, God willing, we'll know each other better when Christmas comes around.

It's one of the things I love about Christmas and those accompanying traditions.

Where's Your Home's..."Chamber Of Secrets?"

 Even though the term became famous from a second book in the most successful literary series of all time, in our house we have our own Chamber of Secrets. 

It's the master bedroom closet.

Of course, everyone living in our house knows it's where our Chamber of Secrets can be found. The location of the room is not "secret," but what it contains, is...

Or at least, some of it is.

But, is it good to have secrets, any secrets? Some say yes, others, no. Personally, I believe there's a time for truth and a time for that truth to be revealed later. Secrets can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances. Normally, there's pretty much nothing in our Chamber of Secrets that can't be known by anyone in the house. This is, however, a special time of year.

Growing up, I found the Chamber of Secrets in various places in my childhood home. The first one I remembered was an unfinished half-bath on the main floor of the home my father never got to finish. It was a good choice, but once the secret was out, it was no longer technically a "Chamber of Secrets."

It moved to different locations, and I believe, during the final years I lived at that house as a teenager, the chamber became mobile, then was located off-site. There might have been a sub-chamber somewhere--I'm not sure. If so, it truly was a secret chamber.

One day my kids will have their own homes where their family will work and play, eat and sleep...and they'll have Chambers of Secrets, too. 

I wonder if I'll ever find them...

Time will tell.

And So...It Begins

 We picked up the industrial strength butter cookies a few weeks ago. We knew then what we were doing...we always do, but that doesn't stop us from doing it again.

The dreaded Danish Butter Cookies.

They're dangerous.

Oh how we love them. 

It's deceptive, really. The tin is so big that you think--when you begin--that the deliciousness will go on forever. Your logical mind tells you that's impossible, but your tasty mind fights the logic. After all, a few butter cookies here and there isn't much. See--there's still loads left.

Then, you begin throwing away the white paper cups. In our house, the cookies with the sugar sprinkles go first. The top layer goes...no big deal--still have many left. Then instead of a cup missing here or there, the layers begin to go. Soon, the tin is half full.

How in the world can that happen?

With five people in the house, it happens. Each of us take a cookie here, a cookie there. There's really no way to stop it.

I have a connection to the cookies...more to the country after which they're named. Denmark. It's a small country, but world famous for its desserts. I was fortunate enough to live in the country for a couple of years decades ago. I still miss the bakeries and what's found inside. I feel I have an obligation to buy them every Christmas season. I owe it to my memories.

Next fall--having learned nothing--we will once again purchase the big tin and in December we'll open it as we did today. And we'll eat them all. And we'll love them all.

Trying Something New This year...Artificial-Wise

 For years, we pretty much knew what we were going to do for Christmas, as far a decorating the house and getting a tree.

We always got a real tree. Most of the time we went to a parking lot south of Layton High School and Layton Park, across the street from the old Pizza Hut (that has changed names and menus so many times since then...). A company from Montana brought trees down, we'd mill about for a few minutes--usually in the cold, pick out a tree, load it on top the minivan, bring it home, and bring it inside.

Simple. Done. The only thing to worry about was the cost.

Things changed last year. We moved and as Christmas approached, we needed a tree, but were to find one. We looked in our local area and saw no Christmas tree lots so we drove east, over the mountain pass to Logan. We found a nice tree, but in doing so, we discovered something--not new, necessarily. The cost of the trees had skyrocketed.

Fast forward ten months and my wife and I found ourselves in a Hobby Lobby store looking an artificial trees. There were a few reasons we never got a fake tree before. One, we really didn't have a place to store an artificial tree in our old house, and they were expensive. This year, we have space to store a tree and even though they are expensive, the real ones were catching up in price and catching up fast.

We found one--without lights attached--that we liked. We bought it and after Thanksgiving we put it up and trimmed it. It's tall and symmetrical--there are a lot of pluses to the tree. We don't have to worry about not watering it and it drying out, nor do we need to worry about how to get rid of it when Christmas comes to an end.

But, there are non-pluses as well. That smell of a fresh tree--I didn't think I'd miss it so much. And, I know it's not real. It checks off all the boxes of what a Christmas tree should be, but it just can't be what it's supposed to be, at least, not completely.

The cost of this tree would be the cost of two fresh trees, at current prices, so after next year, it's all gravy. And, I know being able to put it up at anytime without having to get in the car, drive to a lot, pick out a tree, try--without ever fully succeeding--getting the thing to stand completely straight, then taking it down, and throwing it away will be great. I think it's a pretty tree. It's one we'll have for a while.

Black Friday...We (Sort Of...) Did Not Participate

 The two pictures on this post were not taken today. They were taken before this week, before Black Friday. I know the whole world's change in the past couple of years, but I've to to say, I miss shopping on Black Friday.

You know what I mean. There was once a time when all stores closed on Thanksgiving and then beginning around midnight for some, 4am for others, the stores would open their doors and the hoards would charge in, back when you'd pull up in the middle of the night and there'd already be lines of people freezing their keisters off all hoping to score on the big-ticket items...TVs, and electronic items mostly.

We didn't go hog wild, as others did. We usually just went to Target...it was the closest big store to us. We'd spend a few hours and see what we could find. I remember getting a 10x Pixel Kodak digital camera for one-hundred dollars. That was a steal back then. I also remember looking at the line of shoppers waiting to check out, the line going back into the kids shoes section. So with a couple of shopping carts and us wanting to be home before noon, we casually asked the worker stationed at the jewelry counter if she could check out our stuff. There was no line and she said, "Yes." We saved several hours that blessed Black Friday.

We only went Black Friday shopping a few times. Then, came the internet and online shopping and the way we did Black Friday shopping changed. You didn't have to freeze or get up in the middle of the night--a few well-timed clicks and that prized item discounted 15 to 30% could be yours.

That's when I think stores began staying open on Thanksgiving so there was no need to camp out or do the things that we used to do. I sort of miss those days, even though they were crazy and un-Christian, and people actually died trying to get whatever it was they thought was more important than human life.

We had to run an errand today. On the way home we stopped by the Main Street Mercantile to pick up some things, and there just happened to be a Black Friday sale going on. We went in and bought some Christmas gifts. There was no long lines, no fights in the aisles, no waking up at 2am or standing outside in the cold, but it was still fun.