Deck the halls

I've not been one for decorating for the holidays. It's just me at home, and I don't have people over very often. Nevertheless, a year (or two or three) ago I bought a string of colored lights that I (pathetically) draped over the blinds by one of my sliding glass doors. It added a splash of color to my place and made it feel a little more seasonally appropriate.

Last year I bought a small fake Christmas tree. I couldn't find any colored lights, so I added the string I had to the white ones that came on the tree. My apartment seemed slightly more Christmas-y.

Here's the thing: I never put away the Christmas tree. It's siting in the exact same spot where I set it last December. I haven't been plugging in the lights all this time, but the tree has been there in its prominent spot atop a short bookshelf by the TV.

It's not like I didn't think about taking it down. In fact, it occurred to me to do so on a few occasions, but due to the need for folding up the branches so it can fit back in the box, I just never got around to it. Honestly, the tree kind of became invisible to me after awhile. I knew it was there, but I didn't really see it.

Tonight the tree is lit up. It does give me a good feeling to see it, weird as that may seem. This time I'll try to put it away. I might need to give myself until February or March, though.