2019 Christmas Tree

“The Nutcracker” is on in Astoria.  The Bayside Singers are booked at both the north and south ends of the Peninsula.  Tuba Christmas is coming back to the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum.  And there are bazaars and craft fairs all over the place.

But that’s not how I know “the season” has begun.  No.  Nothing quite so festive has alerted me.  It was my overwhelming desire (unconquered, though I tried) to clean house, polish silver, sparkled up the crystal and glassware and think about transforming the house one more time.

2021 Christmas Tree

I’d sort of planned on a break this year.  You know — just a low-key get-together with friends and family to count our blessings, sing a carol or two, and maybe raise our glasses to sweet memories and  tomorrows of hope.  Maybe just a little tree and some greenery on the mantel…

But, somehow, that wasn’t the family consensus.  “Oh, Mom, let’s have a big tree — just one last ten-footer,” said Charlie.  And why was it that Marta was in perfect agreement, anyway?  She isn’t even going to be here this year.  (When you make your living as a pet-sitter, holidays are seldom your own.)  And since when is Christmas still all about “kids” even though they are approaching 70?

2012 Christmas Tree

I thought about those things as I fluffed up the dining room today, all the while singing along with Joan Baez and Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra…  Tomorrow, the living room and the next day the library.  And by next week, I hope all will be ready for that ten-foot tree — not only the house but the crew of helper elves who have offered their holiday assistance!  And then… let the toasting begin!