He Came In Like a Wrecking Ball

Finally, the day came when it was time to take down the big Christmas tree. It is a day we all dread, but it is a thing that must be done. I lit the tree first thing in the morning and brought all of the creatures out to watch, so that nobody should be startled or chagrined to discover that some Grinch had stolen the tree, once it was gone. (Sorry, Cindy Lou Who, but there's a light on this tree that won't light on one side!)

At 11 a.m., the lights went out on the Christmas tree and I went to work disassembling things. It took me about two hours to take down the tree and put away the tree and decorations. It's always a tough call when to do it, as I like Christmas to last and last. But we do have THREE small (less than two feet tall) Christmas trees that stay up all year. So there's that to tide us over till next Christmas.

It almost seems like we should play Bing Crosby's White Christmas backwards while taking down the tree, which might have been funny. His song Mele Kalikimaka is one of my favorites, and come to think of it, that one backwards might almost sound a lot like it does frontwards.

There was one moment of tears. I pulled the special little elephant that my friend sent my dad off the tree and said out loud, "My father has a BFF in India who sent him this elephant." And then I cried a little. For Christmas will NEVER be as good for me without my big sister Barb and my parents. But we are getting by. We are making it through, one moment, one hour, one day, one week, one year at a time.

The tree gets taken apart and placed back into bags, and then into a box that goes into the shed for storage. I placed all of the ornaments on the kitchen table, and I looked over to see T. Tiger trying to ride one of the Christmas balls (why yes, that's a Penn State Rose Bowl ball, from January of 1995), just like the lady in that famous video! 

The rest of the balls are vintage Shiny Brite ornaments from my parents. The bright pink ones are a personal favorite, as I loved those and putting them up always really annoyed my big sister Pat (who did not prefer bright colors, loud noises, or flashy things), so it was WIN and WIN. Ha ha!

We will miss you, Christmas, but we will hold you in our hearts until next time!

Our soundtrack song is Wrecking Ball, by Miley Cyrus. First, here is my favorite version, with Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton on New Year's Eve. It features a mashup of Wrecking Ball and I Will Always Love You that just slays me. What a treasure. Oh, and here is the original Miley video that caused a lot of talk. And here is the funniest one I know of that just sends me into giggle-fits: a little send-up by Anne Hathaway that is just marvelous and SPOT ON. Enjoy!

Historical note: When I was a little girl and lived at home, we always had a LIVE tree, which my mother was petrified would burn the house down. Because it was such a dangerous thing, and a fire hazard, the tree was obtained one week before Christmas and typically removed about a week after Christmas. During the time it was up, we'd take turns watering it every day and keeping an eye on it to make sure it didn't burst into flames right there in front of us! Now, two weeks was NEVER enough Christmas tree for me. So as an adult, now that I have my OWN house, and a fake tree, we can have Christmas for as long as we like! So there!