Not being one to procrastinate, I figured I would work on getting the Christmas tree taken down and out of the house before the end of January. I wanted to address the situation before it became a fire hazard, and waded right in.
Since my ‘help’ slows things down, I got the little girls off to school first. As soon as I got home, I removed all decorations, as well as the eight strands of Christmas lights my super-tall husband had put up. This required a ladder. I only pulled the tree over on myself only once. Dry, it was lighter than the fresh tree that Jeff dropped on me two Christmases ago.
Then I removed every single tiny tinsel strand and threw them in the garbage: this thing was going out to the woods and I didn’t want any little Bambies choking on shiny stuff. Now, my only New Year’s resolution is to hide the tinsel from Jeff next December.
After scooting and dragging the tree to the sliding glass door, it was obvious that it would not going to fit through the opening. I still tried. I wound up cutting limbs off the darn thing to man-handle it onto the deck. It will be days before I can get all of this pine sap off my hands.
During all of this, I found time for the laundry. Illness had gone through the family, so I stripped all beds, washed all sheets, towels and robes, and got them all put back in their places. I had the time to grab a cheese stick for lunch, a brief shower, and set some appointments.
Why do I list all of these things? After picking all offspring up from school, starting a fire in the wood stove and thinking about dinner, I took a second to flop down on the sofa beside Firstborn in front of the TV. She said “Mom, could you get me a drink?”
I said “Give me a second, and I’ll get back up.”
She turned to me and said “What’s it like not having a job?”
Seriously?
My denuded, chopped up Christmas tree, all ready for mulching.
Tags: unemployed, working
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It must be so nice not having a job – you have all that time to indulge yourself! I too had to take down our Christmas Tree. What a job! I didn’t mind the pine sap all over me but those needles brought me out in an itchy rash. And then there was the vacuuming of all those pine needles that had ended up all over the place. I love Christmas but for those of us who don’t have jobs, it’s a big job! xx
Oh Charlie! I am so sorry about the rash! Usually I like to spend my days lounging about, thinking, and nibbling chocolates. Firstborn just caught me on a bad day.
Nude trees, and naive teens:) She must have meant to say, “Mom, can I get you a drink?” and then “What must it be like to work out of the home and make our lives so wonderful?” Surely you misunderstood her.
Perhaps you are right – I was just tired, sticky with tree sap and had pine needles sticking out of my hair and it was making me cranky. So easy to misunderstand.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! This post really made me laugh. Maybe you should swap lives with her for one day, making a list of everything that you do in a day, and see what she thinks?
Hah! Actually, she’s a lot smarter than that comment implies. She would never trade.
Being a parent is a full time job in and of itself. Having three kids at home is like having 3 full time jobs. You should be proud of all you get done. You can get a regular job anytime you want. But you only get one shot at raising kids and “being there” with them. I admire what you do.
All the best.
Chuck