Post Christmas Void

If your traditions are anything similar to mine then the day after Thanksgiving, you are hauling all of your Christmas decoration boxes down from places too high to reach if you happen to be 5'4". You dust off the year of dirt and cobwebs and spend a couple of hours sorting through the many Christmas memories of past. You smile when you see the handmade ornaments and place them on your brightly shining tree while the kids dance around the room with the excitement of the holiday season bright in their eyes. A few hours later, the warmth of multi-color twinkling lights fill the house and shades of green and red hang in every room. The Christmas glow is complete. You spend your days making holiday crafts and goodies while the pleasant sounds of Christmas music plays quietly in the background. No matter how many curve-balls life might be throwing your way, the natural joy of the season always seems to raise your spirits. I suppose celebrating 25 straight days of our Lord's birth is blessed that way. Christmas has arrived. The smiles and laughter of the children spreads into your heart as they talk of Santa and baby Jesus. It's a wonderful day.

But as all things do with time, Christmas comes and then Christmas goes. The day after seems different somehow. You may leave the tree up for a couple of more days in hopes of squeezing a few more ounces of holiday joy out of it's twinkling lights. But somehow, the glow of those tiny bulbs on the tree don't hold the same magic. You realize that now that it's over, it's time to pack away the holiday until next year. That's what today was for me. Much to the kiddos' dismay, I lugged all the boxes into the living room and packed up another year of Christmas memories. It was a good one, despite the hard times and I look forward to getting those dusty old boxes down again next year to reminisce once more.

So as I look around the house now, it feels...well...empty. I know that the walls were just as bare a month ago as they are today. The Christmas tree is only up for a month and the stockings only litter the wall for such a short time in the year. But I feel the void, nevertheless. Somehow, I don't mind the bitter bite of the winter wind when Christmas is in the air. I suppose that's part of the reason it's so sad to see the house so bare now. The magic of snow on Christmas is a joyful thing to see. After Christmas, the prospect of ice and snow merely annoys me and reminds me that we are stuck inside until spring graces us again. I suppose that if Christmas lasted all year then it wouldn't feel so wonderful when it comes. As much as I dislike the void I feel, I'll always be thankful that each and every year, we get to experience the magic of Christmas all over again.