It’s Beginning to Look Somewhat Like Christmas

   Sometimes I think my neighbors must believe that I’m a Jehovah’s Witness. You see, I never get the outside of my house or the yard decorated for any holiday, not even for Christmas, the mother of all decorate-your-property holidays.  There are no icicle lights hanging from the eves of the house, nor twinkling on the bushes.  I have no electric candles shining from the windows at night. There’s not one bit of greenery on my mailbox. I do own a wreathe hanger for the front door that I purchased a few years ago, but no actual wreathe to hang on it. My house’s exterior practically screams, "Bah humbug!" at Christmas time.

    Now, I’m not against decorating. I’m not one of those “Christmas trees are pagan” kind of Christians.  I would be truly disappointed if no one else strung lights all over their landscaping, made their gas lamps look like candy canes, or set up a nativity scene.  I honestly enjoy and appreciate everyone else’s efforts. I just don’t want to do all that work myself because, frankly, I don't enjoy it. Besides, decorating outside for Christmas invokes the law of gravity - what goes up must come down and preferably before summer arrives.

    Believe it or not, there is a positive side to being an exterior decorating Scrooge. No one has ever tripped over any guy lines anchoring down a tacky Santa Claus inflatable anchored in my front yard. The mailman can get my box open without shredding his knuckles on a pine cone.  Best of all, I’ve never been rushed to the ER because I fell off a ladder trying to hang a string of lights from the eve of my house (or while taking them down again in July). This is an important point, as I’m already in physical therapy for the stuff I manage to do myself with both feet on the ground.  My medical co-pays are high enough right now, thank you very much!

    “Come on, Lynn, show some Christmas spirit,” you say. I know, I know - I should at least go find that festive wreathe for the front door.  Don’t be too hard on me, though.  I managed to get a few Christmas cards out for the first time in a long time. And my Christmas tree is up and decorated inside the house. So it is beginning to look somewhat like Christmas around here.

    Merry Christmas, ya’ll!