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mara williams
on Jun 18 2013 - 06:00 AM
Hey, manchild, mama says: clean your room, wash the dishes, don't drink and drive.
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Emily Parnell
on Jun 16 2013 - 06:00 AM
Eating fresh, local produce is good for body and soul
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Jim Cosgrove
on Jun 13 2013 - 06:00 AM
I just want to buy some pants. Please, turn down the music.
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That’s what I feel like yelling to the people as they pass by our house. I’m just sure they’re judging us.
I mean why wouldn’t they? I’ve done the same thing to people for years.
Lights up at the end of January? Just take 30 minutes out and take the dang stuff down, I always say to myself as I pass by those houses.
A wreath still hanging and Valentine’s Day is less than two weeks away? Keep up with the seasons, I’ve said in judgment.
But then, well, life happened. And don’t I feel like the hypocrite? The judger becomes the judged.
Truth is, no, I don’t have 30 minutes to take the dang stuff down. And what’s wrong with having four Christmas wreaths hanging on the front of our home? The flowers in the center are red -- red for Valentine’s Day.
Santa? Well, maybe he's just welcoming the next holiday. He wants to stay around to see it come.
The candles lining the rock wall? Well, that’s just insane, especially because we never actually turned them on during the holidays. Never got around to hooking up the right extension cord.
I cringe every time I pull into the drive and then shut the garage door immediately so the neighbors don’t see. Maybe they’ll think we’re out of town. And have been for a month.
If only it were just the outside decorations. Oh no. Santa’s Christmas train lines our breakfast bar.
Baby Jesus is still on the fireplace. And poinsettias are all over the place. (Thank goodness husband took down the tree four days ago or we’d be really pathetic.)
I like to tell myself I’m extending the cheer. That one month just isn’t enough to enjoy all that Christmas brings.
Yeah, whatever.
I just can’t find the time to take everything down, pack it away and get things back to normal. No time for normal. Toddlers going through a screaming phase. Sixth-grader’s already planning for Junior High. Mom’s back in the hospital. And husband and I are seeing how many New Year’s resolutions we can break before January. We’ve got a few days left.
So keep on judging. Santa’s not going anywhere.
I still have the wreath on the front door! I know it needs to come down, but I guess I am like you I just don't care!Well, you have passed the initiation into the very exclusive Procrastinator's Club. Welcome! I think life is more important, and the other stuff will get done. I still have a dining room full of stuff that just needs to be put away, but feels too overwhelming. The basement is too cold to spend time organizing it all! I might trip on the stairs on the way down, and then where would we be? I ask you. I hope your mom is doing better and comes home (to hers, preferably) soon!DH and I have a Christmas wreath that his late grandmother made, that hangs on our front window year-round. My MIL commented on it once. Once. We just ignored her and go on loving the wreath. After a while you don't even see it. :) Hope your mom's doing well.Don't feel too bad... I still have the mini Christmas tree (meant to go on my in-laws' graves) sitting on my piano. And I still have a Nutcracker display up on the shelves in the living room that I pretty much can't access without a crane (who has time to hire one of those?!). Embrace your Christmas joy, that's what I say! Tell people you just figured with the economy such as it is today, people needed extended joy this year. And I hope your mom gets better, too. :DWe still have both trees up. I keep rationalizing that it's because DD can't bear the thought of us taking them down. But, who am I kidding? DD also can't bear the thought of NOT having a tootsie roll pop every time she walks through the kitchen, but somehow we have no problem ignoring her pleas on that one.I took the tree down but all the xmas plates are still on the plate rail in the kitchen,all the knick knacks are still out....I'm not judging, I'm one of those anal folks who has to have stuff down the day after Christmas. If I forget and leave something out, it makes me nuts! You go on and enjoy your Christmas stuff.Once again, you have me laughing out loud. It's awful when you cringe just driving up to your house, but each of those little jobs takes mental energy to get done, even more than time. Sounds like your plate is full and you don't have much energy to spare! Great reminder that as soon as we start thinking we know better, there's another side we probably aren't aware of. I've been guilty of the judging many times! Please just focus on your mom and family. The putting up of decorations is a great job to delegate to friends who offer to help.AHHahaha ... that's great ! My feeling is that anyone who's judging does not have enough life going on. My tree and most decoration were down a week after Christmas for the first time in probably 20 years and thats only because I am unemployed and due to a death and my Dad's severe illness, I just wanted Christmas to go away. In years past I've been in your shoes ... and you know what ? that's okay ... gives 'em something to talk about.
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