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Holiday envy when it comes to Christmas decorations
Viki Gonia
Updated: January 21, 2013 2:40PM
WESTERN SPRINGS — I have admitted in years past to being somewhat of a scrooge when it comes to the holidays.
All the crowds in the malls, the loads and piles of stuff with giant discount tags everywhere I turn. The lights and decorations that seem to go up earlier and earlier every year. The endless and meticulous wrapping of gifts only to see that paper shredded just days later and tossed in the trash. Bah! Humbug.
I used to enjoy decorating for the holidays. I’m not sure when I lost the urge, but my last effort, when I moved into my new house three years ago, is still kind of hanging around. There’s strings of lights on the bushes in front of my house that have been there ever since. I’m tempted to try digging out the plug from the branches that have grown around it and see if the lights still work. If they did, I’d probably have to consider that a bit of a Christmas miracle. But then I’d have to do more decorating, because one random string of lights would look pretty silly.
Frankly, I’m mystified. How do you people do it? There are some houses in town that are so vividly and extravagantly lit up, they illuminate everything for miles around. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really pretty and I like seeing it, but I always wonder how anyone has the time to pull off that level of Christmas display, and then take it down again at the end of the season. I can’t even manage to take down a couple of strings of lights over the course of three years, let alone put them back up again the following year. What’s your secret?
I have friends who plan the theme of the decorations on their Christmas tree. The theme of my Christmas tree decorating plan is “Where on earth did I shove the Christmas tree box last year?” Or, sometimes my theme is “Do I have to?”
Maybe it’s not scrooginess. Maybe it’s jealousy. I wish I knew how to pull all that stuff together. For now, I’ll console myself with enjoying all of your decorations, and I’ll let your displays of holiday cheer rub off on me. Something’s got to get me into the spirit. The shopping sure isn’t going to do the trick.
Speaking of shopping, have I mentioned lately what a great idea it is to shop locally? I have? More than once?
If you’ve been wondering just exactly when your dishes are going to stop being clouded and grimy when they come out of the dishwasher (I still haven’t managed to find a trick that works, and I suppose now that I’ll stop seeking one), you’re in luck. According to the village website, the water plant rehabilitation project is in the final stages of completion, and we should be looking forward to softened water in the coming weeks, hopefully by mid-January.
I, for one, am thankful to see the end of this project. My hair feels weird, and no matter what kind of conditioner I use, is constantly threatening to turn into a giant dreadlock; I’m tired of having to wash most of my dishes after they get run through the dishwasher; and everything in general just seems harder to keep clean. This is terrible, considering I get into cleaning about as much as I get into holiday decorating.
Readers can contact Viki Gonia by leaving a message at 312-880-8550 or by sending an email to doingsnews@pioneerlocal.com.
