Despite my desire to keep all the Christmas decorations up until January 6, my husband insisted that they come down today. Kevin went out and took down the outdoor lights and then brought from the garage all the boxes in which to put our indoor decorations. “It’s too early! Look, I have proof!” I went over to our new Church Calendar and found nothing printed on January 6. Instead, Epiphany Sunday was written in. I saw that next Sunday started Ordinary Time, starting with the celebration of the Baptism of Our Lord.
“See, and it’s after sundown, so it’s okay,” said my husband.
Still, I felt depressed. I always feel this way when it comes time to take down the Christmas decorations.
“What’s wrong?” Kevin asked. And, as he has said many times since our First Christmas together, “Christmas only comes once a year. That’s why it is so special. It has to come to an end sometime.”
“But it’s the end of a celebration, and once it’s gone all that’s left is the bleakness and coldness of January”, I said, still moping.
My attitude continued as I put ornaments away, one by one, in a lackluster fashion. Most of our ornaments come in their own special boxes, and the task is enormous. Empty old boxes lay all around me. I found a little comfort in replacing some of the old boxes with newer ones.
We seemed to have found just about every ornament. Some little books were missing from our Nutcracker Advent calendar. They were in a hole in the bottom of the couch, where the remote control sometimes disappears to. (Kevin had seen them earlier, while searching for said remote.) When I find them, they will go into a little drawer in the dining room into which I squirrel late-found ornaments that turn up through the year.
I reluctantly helped him to drag the tree out the door. It was a really good tree and dropped few needles. He helped with the vacuuming and put the boxes away. After a dinner composed of leftovers, I dusted off the surfaces and replaced our picture frames. Suddenly I felt a whole lot better.
There is something about the term “Ordinary Time” that I do not like. But it is for the joy in ordinary time that Jesus came for us. As I settle into the new year, I will take comfort in the relative peace that comes during this quiet time of the year.
Painting: The Adoration of the Magi, 1385-88, Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena
