Buying Some New Ornaments

We arrived in Salt Lake City on New Year's Eve. We had a reservation at Rodizio Grill at Trolley Square, so we went there immediately. It had been years since returning. In fact it was my first time back there since the tragic shooting that occurred there a few years ago. Sadly, many of the shops are now no longer there, but there was this one place that had great Christmas decorations, and we bought five. As soon as we returned on New Year's Day, I had Jack help us place them on the tree. It is always difficult for me to take a Christmas tree down after the end of the holiday. Some years, I begin watching some classic holiday movies and listening to my favorite Christmas CD's in July or earlier. During my marriage, the main source of irritation for my Annie is this reluctance to take the tree down. The latest was February. It was one of the first years we had our first artificial tree, and it was quite heavy. I was working night classes, and I coaxed to keep it up until the weekend. The trick worked every week, until Valentine's Day was just around the corner. It was on that night that I foolishly turned the lights on as soon as I returned from one of the three nights a week of night classes. It was nine or ten in the evening. My Annie damned me all to hell and threatened to drag the tree out the front door the next evening if I didn't do it that Saturday. I never did that again.

I didn't do it again because she cursed me a bit, because that happens whenever I tease her, which happens as often as I can. It happened because the next year arrived, and it was late when we put the tree together. My Annie was not excited about having a tree so long. Late for me is the second week in December. When I said how badly I felt, my Annie piped up and said, "Well, it will be here until Easter, so there's nothing to feel badly about."

I took it down as soon as I could. And it was mid January, but I took it down. The only other year of a delay was when we didn't put one up at all. Our entire family spent Christmas on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was the year when Titanic came to theaters, and our family--exhibiting the bizarre sense of humor we have--spent the evening before our departure going to the theater to see the movie. I will never forget Christmas Eve. Cles and I were walking on a warm Florida evening to the motel's classy hot tub that was outside. We boarded the ship on Christmas Day. It was a fantastic trip, and it was the only year that I didn't miss our tree.