Christmas, here I come!

By Nancy Black

Families are encouraged not to gather together this Thanksgiving because of the threat of spreading COVID-19. My family is on board, as we all hope to live to see the year 2020 end. Therefore, I’m not going to wait. I used to wait until the day after Thanksgiving — Black Friday, my namesake day of the year. But this year, I’m starting this week. Get ready, neighbors, I’m going full on Christmas during the first week of November.

First stop is my orange storage unit. I pay tons of money monthly to store all my holiday decorations and memorabilia safely in a climate-controlled environment so I can use them once a year. My children know the drill. They have to go with me and help heave boxes into the van. They have to help unload them into the house. Then they have to help take the empty boxes back to the storage facility. 

Now, the fun starts. It’s always a joy to open the box that holds my mother’s cherished Christmas angel with lamb table centerpiece. There is the inevitable fight with tangled holiday string lights in my future. And the fear of my dogs knocking over our artificial Christmas tree. 

This year, when the stockings are finally hung by the chimney with care, I’ll have more time to enjoy the holiday decorations and look forward to the new year. Here’s to 2021!