Today I took down the Christmas tree. I wrapped the ornaments in tissue paper and boxed them up. I packed away the stockings. I took the door decorations down. If it hadn’t been raining, I probably would have taken down the outdoor stuff, too.
I suppose that is the bad thing about putting up the holiday stuff early – it comes down early. Sam told me that she was ready to have our living room back. Everything is now back in the basement. I need to get down and organize it a bit, but that is for a later day.
As I said yesterday, we had a good Christmas. However, when everything comes down I feel this deep sadness. I’m not even sure what that is about. I’ve always been a sentimental guy and sometimes I find myself lost in a thought or memory during and after the holidays. I don’t want to call it depression, but it feels like that at times. It is hard to shake.
You can look up “How to get over the post-Christmas blues” online and there is article after article telling you to exercise, make a plan, and countless other things. I try to get lost in a good book, listen to upbeat music, or find things that make me laugh. I had two true guffaws today.
The first was something that I suppose only I would find funny. If you are familiar with Ethel Merman and her music, maybe you’ll chuckle, too. She was big on Broadway and in musicals. One of her songs was “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” She sings it in her cameo in the movie Airplane! Anyway, someone sent me this:
Hilarious – if you get it.
The second source of laughter came from my son. Before bed, the kids called me to show me that they colored some dinosaurs for me. They want me to bring them to work. I only have a cubby that I can put them in, as I don’t have a desk. They colored them with markers and were so happy to show me.
After I hung up, Sam sent me a picture of Andrew with one of the markers in his nose. I laughed and immediately thought of the scene in Animal House where John Belushi has pencils in his nose in the Dean’s office. Putting them together only made me laugh harder.
Channeling his inner comedian!
Speaking of comedians, I was sad to hear of the passing of Tommy Smothers. He and his brother, Dick, were one of the great comedy teams back in the day. ”Mom always liked you best,” was one of their staple routines. I found a clip of them on Johnny Carson that I remembered watching live the night it aired.
Thanks for the laughs Tommy!
A radio buddy of mine once told me to always “find the funny” when prepping my show. ”Laughter is important” he told me. It is far from a New Year’s Resolution, but I do plan on finding the funny in the days and years ahead. Life has too many things to bring us down.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 
Idk that you need to read a lot of articles about getting you out of the post-Xmas funk. Getting a cheerful boost from your family seems like the right prescription to me :) And whenever I’m truly feeling blue, we have My Cousin Vinny, sure to have you chortling :D
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love looking for the laughs, impossible to be sad then. I think there is such a long buildup and anticipation for the holidays, that it feels like a let down when it all ends for another year. it is nice to ease back into comforting routines again after a time
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Yeah, I get the post Christmas blues too. I’ll start packing it up today. Dick and Tommy were icons back in the late 60s, great TV show and cutting edge for that time. The last pic of the two together was disturbing; darn those guys got old, well, so am I .
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Lots of people feel as you do, Keith. Me? I get the winter blahs. My ambition goes right out the window come January 1 and lasts right till the end of February, right around my birthday. I used to enjoy my birthday; don’t get me wrong …. I’m grateful to be having another one. However, it just reminds me how old I am (as if I needed reminding!). You’re not that unusual, my friend!
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What a great clip, I loved it. I am a glass half-full gal and always try to look for the positive. I like “Find the Funny” better though. I am taking my tree and decorations down today and know it will be a sad day, especially as I remember the previous Christmases with my husband. Have a Happy New Year!
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You’re ambitious, getting all the Christmas decorations down so fast! We didn’t decorate quite as much as usual this year but will probably take down our little tree and decorations in the room this weekend, not sure about teh big living room one though. I miss the trees when they’re taken down but then again, I guess like Sam feels, it’s nice to have the ‘extra’ space in the room.
Finding things that make you laugh are always very worthwhile uses of time!
I think most people tend to be a bit ‘blue’ this time of year – or at least by Jan 1 evening, with no big celebrations in the near future and the days being so short (particularly up that way).
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Keith…I think I said it in the last post I commented on. I get depressed as well on Christmas night…we have our thing on Christmas Eve…so yea it hits me on that night and stays with me for a few days. I watched the Dick Van Dyke show last night to brighten me up a little bit.
I didn’t know about Tommy Smothers…that really sucks!
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Yeah. That loss was a shock.
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Yes it was…a huge loss
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Find the funny is fantastic advice. I need to try that a bit more myself!
The holidays are hard. It was one reason I tried to throw myself into the comfy cozy Christmas mode, but I found myself crying on more than one occasion this season.
I’m with your wife – I am ready to have my house back too! I was just thinking, when are we taking this tree down…..
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Oh my lord… LOL!
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