Day #7/365: Taking down the Christmas decorations at the farm can be especially bittersweet, mostly because there’s that question in the back your mind… Are we doing this again next year?
Julia and I went out to the farm late last week to help dad take down the Christmas decorations. We always put the wreath out on the front of the house (it’s the neighbors’ waypoint to let them know that the holiday has truly begun), but this year we got a little more ambitious with a tree and many of the decorations that we’d kept in storage – some of it for years.
It was definitely worth the effort. Christmas had a special twinkle on the farm this year. Seeing Julia’s face light up when I turned on the Christmas tree or wound up a music box was rocket fuel for my soul.
But now it was January, and the time had come to take it all down. The boxes were pulled out and filled with the trappings of Christmas joy.
First, the big wreath that hangs on the farm house every year was unplugged, lowered to the ground and put in the shed. And then the Christmas tree was taken down.
Finally, there were the heirlooms that were my mother’s. Her Santa Claus figurines left the shelves of the china cabinet and the handmade wreaths that had hung in the windows for years found their way back into their boxes and were taken to the attic.
And through it all, the nagging question remained: How many more Christmases will we spend at the farm?
Strangely, it was a bittersweet mixture of nostalgia and gratitude of ever having known this marvelous place that welled up inside of me. And as Julia helped me carry a borrowed wreath back to the car, I turned her around to face me and got this shot.
The look on her face mirrored my feelings as I considered the twofold blessing of a life giving Christmas season and a wondrous place to spend it.
One Response
What a great message. We as a family all have great memories of the farm. Thank you for sharing you thoughts. It is wonderful you are making New memories with your family. Have a Happy New Year.