Laziness

Paul and I are lazy Christmas people. We do the absolute bare minimum to celebrate the holiday in a festive manner. We don't bake cookies, we don't shop until the weekend before, we don't send Christmas cards, and we rarely think to buy gifts for anyone other than immediate family. Today I saw an old friend from high school who now lives on the east coast and is visiting for the holidays. She walks up to the house and has two gifts in her hand and I think to myself, "Oh right, that's what people do for Christmas. Give gifts. Make a mental note of that." (Side note: I make that mental note every year.)

We were celebrating our first Christmas in our new home about three years ago. It was about four days before Christmas and we still hadn't gotten a tree. Paul went to the local K-Mart to negotiate for one of those beautifully decorated display trees (to show you how a decorated tree is really supposed to look). It was a pre-lit tree, with the lights wrapped around the branches and all the ornaments. I mean, what are they going to need those trees for. Now, it's just extra stock. He buys the tree for $60 (total value of said tree with decorations would've been about $150, what a bargain!). He throws the tree in the back of his truck and plops it right in front of the window. Here's the kicker: all of the price tags were still on ALL of the ornaments. And of course, we left them on there. I convinced myself that it was because it was funny and kitschy, but it was really because it would've taken way too much effort to take off every price tag. I mean, obviously, I wasn't putting that much energy into Christmas decorations that year.

Now, it's three years later and the lights are starting to go out. When we put up the tree, I really put a lot of effort into finding the dead bulbs and making sure the entire tree was lit. There was just one section that I couldn't fix. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't that noticeable, but in truth, there is a dark ring around our tree. Any other "Suzy Homemaker" would find some creative way to fix that dark spot. And by creative, I mean going and buying a separate strand of lights and adding them to the tree. I just wasn't cut from the "domestic diva" fabric. I can live with the dark spot. Annoying? Yes. Ignorable? Absolutely.

I just walked by the tree tonight and noticed that the lights on the top of the tree have gone out now. Here is the conversation Paul and I had:

Me: Hey, the lights at the top of the tree are out now.
Paul: Yeah, they've been out for a couple of days. I didn't have the heart to tell you.

That's right, I hadn't noticed. Another testament to our laziness. I would post a picture, but my camera isn't readily seen on any of the surfaces around me and I'm just too lazy to go look for it. That's how I roll.