Snowflakes and Candy Canes

Some people put up their Christmas trees on Thanksgiving afternoon and take them down the day after Christmas. I am not one of those people. I tend to run much later. My excuse for taking them down later is that at least some of my elders believed you should leave them up until January 6 or, as they called it, “Old Christmas.”  Actually it’s just that I’m either lazy or really hate to give up little white lights, wherever they may be. But at some point that day arrives when I can’t take the clutter any longer and have to get my house back to a somewhat normal state.

To those of you who don’t know me, I was a teacher for many years, surrounded by students for most of the year. Then there was our family. Before the last of our children left home, my parents moved in with us. In 2005 everything changed. I was no longer teaching, and the last inhabitant of the house other than me died. Suddenly I was alone, for the first time in my life, and to say this was an adjustment is an understatement. I must add, however, that I’ve always been a night owl, the tendency perhaps fueled by needing at least a few minutes without people. If I stayed up late enough, I could have at least an hour or so of solitude. Seven years ago I moved from the large house with attached apartment that previously held all of us to a small townhouse. I’ve become accustomed to not having others around, and actually love the quietness and order of my much smaller space.

Patient, readers, I’m about to get to the snowflakes and candy canes part. Over the holidays, three of my four sons, their wives, and five of the grandchildren decided to all come at the same time. It was wonderful! Yes, it was crowded. Sleeping eleven extra people makes for a lot of togetherness, so air mattresses and camping gear were everywhere. Total chaos part of the time, but very happy chaos. Among the activities was a cookie experience. One son found cookie kits for Ugly Christmas Sweater cookies and Ninja Gingerbread Men cookies. He baked the cookies, then everyone gathered by turns at the dining table in the living/dining area to vie for the decorating bags of red, green, and white frosting along with a variety of decorating candy additions: snowflakes, candy canes, silver dragées, sprinkles, stars, colored sugars, jimmies – all very tiny and difficult for both young and adult hands to keep from dropping.

The last left on January 4. Umpteen loads of laundry later, and with most of the decorations down, my house is more or less back to order. And quiet, very quiet. I’ll miss them, but they left me a few reminders. Even after sweeping, mopping, or vacuuming the various rooms, I’m still finding some of those little tiny candies from the cookie marathon – snowflakes and candy canes that make me smile.