Barbara J. Hamby

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To Decorate or Not

A couple of years ago, when I was moving for the umpteenth time, I gave away all my Christmas decorations. It saves me a lot of energy and effort not to have to drag them out, scatter them around the house, and then repack them a few weeks later.

Last year, Christmas was a time of mourning for us. Late in the year we lost my brother-in-law, Al’s mother, and my very close friend of more than sixty years. Naturally, I didn’t feel very festive at Holiday time.

This year, I’m having my kids for a post-Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas dinner next Sunday. I decided to use my existing houseplants, some poinsettias and candles to make the house look brighter. Bright tablecloths will help also. The effort and dollars expended are minimal and the results are pretty cheery.

The aches and pains of aging can stimulate creative ways to avoid unnecessary work. I’ll dust and maybe even vacuum and swish through the bathrooms, but it’s too cold out to do windows.

Next I need to whomp up some sort of Holiday greetings in lieu of Christmas cards, possibly a simplified Holiday letter with a few pictures from our travels. We’ll see.