TheBanyanTree: Bare

[Margaret R. Kramer]

I always serve little wienies in barbeque sauce on New Year’s Day.  Where
that tradition came from, I can’t say.  But I love eating ultra-fat,
ultra-high empty calorie wienies, so to cram in one more hedonistic holiday
thing, I gorge myself on small wienies all New Year’s day, before I have to
go back to healthy eating.

So, yesterday morning, I got one crock pot going with those yummy wienies
and another crock pot was cooking pot roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions.
My bread machine was baking a loaf of white bread.  The good homey smells
were in place for the second showing.  I added sound with a Nigel Kennedy
playing Bach CD for background music.  The fireplace was lit.  Ray chipped
the ice off the patio and shoveled some snow off the deck.  We turned on
lights and opened closet doors.  Then we grabbed our sick dog and left.

While our house was being shown, we drove by five houses we were interested
in.  A couple of the houses were crossed off right away, but there were two
we would like to see if our house sells, so we’ll keep the information about
them just in case.

When we got back, we stripped the house of all its Christmas decorations.
Down came the lights, the stockings, the Christmas tree, the ornaments, the
cards, the Santas, the angels, and everything else associated with
Christmas.  Ray stripped while I gathered and packed.

Finally, the only thing that remained was the Christmas wreath that was on
the outside of our house.  I was walking up the driveway to get it when I
saw a car parked in front of our house with the very interested in our house
couple in it.  They slowly drove away when they saw me.  I wanted to say,
“Please buy our house.  I’ll show you all the cool things about it,” but I
knew it was their decision and by being in front of our house, they were in
the process of making it.  I thought it was a good sign they were there,
because I would do the same thing if I were really interested in a house, so
I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Our house is back to its decluttered, bare self, which is always a good
feeling on New Year’s Day.  All the anxiety, the getting ready, the
shopping, the baking, the cards, and the wrapping are over.  I love
Christmas and New Year’s, but I’m not sorry to see them end either.  It’s
nice to slide back into a boring life again.

Susan and the boys stopped by for dinner last night, so it was one last
chance to use the good dishes and the cute plastic Christmas glasses I
bought at the World Market earlier this fall.  The red candles were lit for
the last time before being thrown out.  The boys were wild, I think because
their schedules have been so disrupted by the holidays, and they’re probably
ready to go back to their own routines, too.

After they left, Ray and I settled in on the green couch in front of the
stockingless fireplace and watched football on ESPN before I staggered to
bed.

Well, we get a little bonus this year with the holidays being on Sunday, and
that’s having the Mondays after them off as holidays.  Now, today I don’t
have to do anything special.  My only requirement is that I work out; either
go to the extremely crowded club with all the January resolutions people who
won’t be there three weeks from now or go for a run.  Then I’ll probably
drag out all my scrapbooking stuff, put some good music on the stereo, and
enjoy the bareness of the day.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a
list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance
the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for
flaws, but for potential.
~Ellen Goodman