How I dread this time of year. The After Christmas season. Town is all a-buzz...with cranky, unsatisfied consumers returning gifts that, for a plethora of reasons, didn't suit them.
And my own home is also all abuzz. with sad people who have to partake in the dismantling of All Things Christmas.
My sparkly, beautiful tree is still up, mocking me.
For it has to come down.
And when it's a faux (doesn't that sound better than FAKE?) evergreen tree and piles of breakable ornaments needing to be individually wrapped in tissue paper...this includes a better part of the afternoon. Complete with many-a-trek up two flights of stairs to its cozy home: the attic.
*the following is my nativity set that our good friend, Jon Clark, said I'd be reported for... to my church elders. for its Swedish rendition of Jesus. complete with blond hair and ultra-pale skin. *laughing*
The Christmas decorations that make my house feel so festive and colorful are needing to be packed away. causing a sudden lack of festivity in my soon-to-be lackluster abode.
Where Red, Green, Shiny, and Sparkly have been for weeks, there will soon be Nothing. just an empty space of ...has been. Normal, every day nothing.
I know...just hand over the Drama Queen award. I'm pathetic, I don't dispute this.
Our mailbox goes from filled-with-holiday-cheer to bills. and non-profits asking for donations before December 31st. What happened to the spirit of giving? Oh that's right...it's my turn to fork it over. to our local mortgage lender.
So in a span of a few days, my house goes from looking all cheery to ...not. Tis a sad sad time for me.
But despite the depressive "after" part, I wouldn't trade the last months for anything. I love all things PRE Christmas. Especially the shopping for my loved-ones.
And this year, I found something last minute that I'm thinking will go down in Christmas Present Hall of Fame.
At least in this house of daughters...
*we got the book version. not the audioI'm happy to say that I got this little beauty of a stocking stuffer last minute for $3. And it fast became Jet's and my favorite gift this year.
We cried. We laughed. We were inspired to look at our daughters trek to teenager-dom in a whole new way.
It's a story of a guy with four daughters (so easy for us to relate to him, eh?!) who decided when they were young that if a guy wanted to take his daughter out for a date, he had to interview them first.
(Jet said to put in here that the cover makes him look like a dork-dad. but his image is redeemed in the pictures inside. *too funny*)
No, the "Interview" wasn't in some over-controlling way. but.......... oh, just get the book and read it. It's was so sweet. eye-opening. inspiring for both of us.
especially for Jet.
Here's a quote from a man who was one of the young guy long ago interviewed by The Dad:
"Removing a father's role as protector of his daughter and her purity would be like removing the castle wall that guards a princess."
Exactly. Get it. Read it.
...I would say you can borrow Jet's, but I'm thinking you'd have to wrestle him to the ground to get it. being that this copy was signed by the very princesses that he's standing guard for.
...I would say you can borrow Jet's, but I'm thinking you'd have to wrestle him to the ground to get it. being that this copy was signed by the very princesses that he's standing guard for.
