De-Ho Ho Ho-ed

The Tree In It's Prime

Yesterday's Sad State

Yesterday was one o the days I dread the most during the year.  The Christmas decorations came down.  I hate this day because it really does signal the end of the Christmas season in a definitive way.  It didn’t help that I was also recovering from a wee bit of over indulgence in demon alcohol from the great party the day before.

It was time though.  The tree was kept up longer so my wife’s family could see it and was so dry that we’re probably lucky it didn’t spontaneously combust over the last few days.  It still hurts though.  I always love coming down into the kitchen and looking to the right to see the Christmas tree and the large Ho Ho Ho atop my DVD case. 

My wife took advantage of her guests and sicked the Panamanians on the tree to take all the decorations off while I tried to watch the NFL playoffs.  They were very good at the work although my wife’s sister was a little adventurous atop the step ladder.  Luckily the paint can platform sustained her weight.

We dragged the tree out onto the deck but every time I walked by it made me sad.  This was probably the favorite tree I’ve had in this house and it seemed undignified to leave it lying on the deck.  After Ray Lewis started “preening” (my brother in law’s apt description) for the cameras I donned the winter gear and took the tree for its final drag. 

I always recycle the tree by cutting the limbs off and adding them to the detritus of the wood line out back.  I think of this as putting the majestic creature out of its misery (I’m hopeless about Christmas), allowing it some muted form of dignity.  Buddy accompanied me for this somber duty and quickly located a rabbit which he tried to follow into the middle of a very prickly wild rose bush.  The rabbit won that round.

The good thing about this year is that my house is full of Panamanian women and it is impossible to stay sad in their presence.  It seems every five minutes there is some mild provocation that sends the group off into either a lively discussion or gales of laughter.  They are a lot of fun to have around. 

My wife even unveiled a new dessert, left over from the party, which involved multiple levels of chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and brownies – talk about your basic food groups!!!!  That was an uplifting end for the day which saw two overly preening teams win (to my disgust).  This was followed by a shared viewing of the movie RED with Spanish subtitles – so much fun, even if I did have the only Y chromosome on the couch.

The Tree Awaiting Dismemberment

Still Proud Afterwards

The Magic Dessert