Un-Decking the Halls

I am working feverishly to get the halls un-decked today. One tree stands dark in the corner of the dining room though the lights and star still remain on the tree. I should have that tree completely put away in a little while. I am still working on defrocking the big tree. I want all of the ornaments off that tree before it gets dark. It's too hard to see some of them hiding within the tree branches, even with all of the lights on, because the normal lighting in that room isn't all that great to begin with, and colored lights (as we have on the tree this year) just don't put out as much illumination as the clear ones do. I am going to have to haul the ladder in to complete that task (ornament removal, or "defrocking") though.

I must confess that I feel a great sense of sorrow in saying goodbye to the Christmas season this year. There were things I had planned on doing and wanted to do that just didn't materialize. It seemed like the whole period of time between mid-November and New Year's just flew past in a blur. I feel some ambivalence as we move into the new year and decade. It is like there is a sense of urgency to savor the moments and seize the day. Carpe diem!