I love Christmas day, but I also love the day after. I know, piles of paper and boxes everywhere; mountains of toys that must find a new home in already overflowing toy boxes; sleep-deprived children who have consumed nothing but sugar the last 24 hours; garbage cans already smashed down to max capacity and piles of garbage still needing to be stuffed in; and just the depressing thought of, "It's over, already?!?!" But my favorite thing is TAKING DOWN THE DECORATIONS!!! I love decorating for the holidays, especially Christmas, but it is short-lived. I have a tolerance for these festive items of about two weeks. So by the time Christmas rolls around, these gay and festive items that line every shelf, end table, and window sill have become "the enemy". I anxiously await their return to their assigned Rubbermaid container to be doomed to the basement storage room for another year. This morning all the decorations had returned to their "homes" before noon. This year, with Asher breaking an average of one ornament every day, I was especially anxious to get all of the decor safely in it's storage box not only so I could enjoy a less-cluttered house, but also for the sake of their survival. Asher has broken the equivalent of one large Rubbermaid container in decorations this year. Sigh... hopefully next year he will understand I really mean no when he's playing "see what happens when I throw this thing on the hardwood kitchen floor as hard as I can" game. My soul feels more calm, despite the mountains of gifts scattered all over the living room waiting to discover their assigned spot in the house, with the "clutter" of the decorations gone. But believe me, by the time mid-January rolls around I'll be excitedly placing hearts, cupids, and other Valentines items around the house. I will enjoy the "change of scenery" around the place, at least for the first two weeks their up...
