Sunday, December 23, 2007
GEEZERS
When I was a kid, I remember going to the houses of 'old people' who didn't have kids.
No lights all over the outside of the house.
No decorations inside either! No candy.
No toys of course.
They didn't have carols playing.
There was often no tree.
Or, if there was one, they had some little bastard version.
It wasn't much fun. A bummer.
Now, we are those 'old people'.
Our house is that house.
We have a lit wreath with tasteful little white lights on the front door.
Some decorations inside but limited.
A big poinsettia (a lovely gift) rather than a tree.
The cards are not displayed all along the mantel so you can see how many we got. They are all in a dull little deer shaped holder thing.
No carols.
No candy. No fruitcake and no cookies. Well, some that a friend brought.
No gifts all beautifully arranged.
It is a pale shadow of holidays past.
We used to decorate a five story house from the top to the bottom. We had a huge open house christmas eve.
Everything was on show especially under the tree. Cards all over. The works.
None of that now. And it is just fine.
Everything has a season and we lived through all of ours.
Now, it is all lightened up. Minimal. The spirit is there but not so much of the material.
I would like to take credit for it all but it just sort of happened.
Part of it is surely that we live in a warm place. No fireside, hot cider, candle warmth needed.
And the rest is that we are simply done with it.
Less is more.
It takes a while to find that out.
