Putting Away Christmas

The holidays were tough for me this year so I'm happy they're over (except for DH going back to work- that part's a bummer) but it's also difficult to get back into the swing of things. I managed to get my tree down and the house "de-Christmas-ed" already, and I think this is the earliest in the year that's ever happened! I put the last box of Christmas decorations away today. (Not counting the exterior stuff- that's a job for DH.) It's a process! Undecorate the tree, take off the lights, repair anything that broke, pack up all the Keepsake ornaments back in their boxes then into the larger storage box, take down all of the other decorations, (stockings, Advent calendar, etc.), pack those away, then put the boxes back in their places until time to do it all again. I also tried to weed out things to go to Goodwill so I can actually get everything back in the same amount of space that it all came out of, in spite of the new ornaments I purchased. I buy new ornaments every year; each child gets at least one, then when they move into their own house and have their own tree, they get to take their ornaments with them. I've been doing that since my oldest's first Christmas so I have quite a collection now! I can pretty much fill a good sized tree with all Keepsake ornaments. (I also buy at least a few for myself every year.)

The reason this Christmas was difficult for me is that my maternal grandmother died in June. Christmas was her favorite holiday and this is the first one without her. I felt like I was just going through the motions; my heart really wasn't in it. I skipped a lot of our usual traditions, like taking the kids to see Santa, because I just couldn't get into it. It was easier to let it go. I still haven't sent out Christmas cards, either; everyone's going to think I forgot them. I didn't; I'm thinking of sending out Inauguration Day cards, actually, but we'll see if I get around to it!

We got a away for a few days, which was lovely, and I didn't think about Christmas or my volunteer work with Girl Scouts or anything; I was able to live in the moment for those few days. The kids were with us even though we were celebrating our 20th anniversary. DH says he didn't enjoy the time away since we had them with us and he was always having to worry about something, which makes me sad, but we went to a lovely place and did a lot of fun things we never would have done at home. We even squeezed in some educational activities! I didn't mind having them with us. My feeling is that you get married to create a new family, which we've done, so why wouldn't we want to share our anniversary with them? I guess I'm in the minority on that opinion, though.

I'm hoping next Christmas will be easier.