Sad

I think that the couple of days after Christmas are so sad.

Okay, I better rephrase that -- my sister's birthday is the day after Christmas, and we always have to celebrate her that day. So, the couple of days after the day after Christmas are always so sad.

I love Christmas, and I start getting excited about it well before Thanksgiving. I love how the radio stations start playing Christmas music 24/7 the day after Thanksgiving. I love to see all of the houses displaying Christmas lights. I love how everyone is so cheery this time of year, and I even love the busyness of it all.

But it all stops the day after Christmas. The radio stations go back to playing soft rock (um, yuck), people get a little less merry, and the world settles in to a gray, yucky winter. Christmas trees that were so pretty and festive a day before are tossed outside and discarded in sad little piles. And it is life as normal before there is really a chance to celebrate or an opportunity to really enjoy the season.

It is depressing.

And I know that I am not the only one to feel this way. I told Sassy to wear her dress with the Christmas tree on it on Christmas day because it would be the last day that she could wear it -- and my sweet little girl just burst into tears and said "I don't want Christmas to be over!"

So we are kind of holding on to Christmas around here. We still have our tree up and will keep it up a couple more days. We still listen to the occasional Christmas song. And, since it is still Christmas according to the church calendar, we even got to sing some beautiful Christmas hymns during our service last night.

I know that, before I know it, it will be next Christmas, but for now I don't want to give up on this one!