From The Past: November 9, 2006

For a week now, my mind has been on a particular box. This box is in my utility room high up on a shelf. It’s not heavy, so I have often daydreamed about sneaking in, climbing up on a chair, and bringing it down into the light.

You see, I know what is in the box because I helped pack it. I wrapped the delicate items with great care so nothing would break.

Kevin wrote on the box with a big, black Sharpie, “Caution. Stuff in Box!”

Those words only seemed to remind me every time I looked up of what was in the box. Something was nagging at me to get that box down. It probably didn’t help that I secretly started listening to Christmas music before Halloween. It could have been Dean Martin singing A Marshmallow World or Bing Crosby and David Bowie singing The Little Drummer Boy – who knows.

All I do know is that today was the day. The box was coming down.

But first, I had to free up some space. We have so much stuff and so little room that space is hard to come by. I have to box things up that stay out all the time to allow room for all the Christmas stuff. When we decorate, it is an all-day affair.

In my eyes, getting this one, tiny box down was okay because we won’t have to deal with it on decorating day. (This will be my explanation to Kevin.)

I decided my end table would be the easiest thing to clear. I carried all the books I plan to read back to a corner of floor in the bedroom and that is where they will stay until after Christmas.

I carefully brought the box into the kitchen and unwrapped each new Christmas piece with care. My dad picked these out and bought them for me last year and I love them.

It’s hard to really appreciate them from a picture, I know, but they remind me of something from The Nightmare Before Christmas. They give me a little piece of Christmas to look at while I listen to Loretta Lynn sing Country Christmas.