DECK THE HALLS

“Can somebody help me please!” I called from the top of the attic ladder.

My husband Steven came around the corner from the kitchen holding a plate of Thanksgiving leftovers in his hand. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“I was looking for some help bringing down the Christmas decorations.” I was sitting on the attic floor with my feet on the top rung on the ladder.

Steven held up his plate. “I was just getting ready to microwave Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch.”

My son Alex came out of his room and looked up at me. “What are you doing?” he asked.

I didn’t get a chance to answer before Steven said, “She wants to get the Christmas decorations down.”

“Now?” Alex looked at the plate his Dad was holding. “Hey, I was just going to go make a plate for lunch myself.”

They both looked up at me.

“Don’t you want to finish enjoying Thanksgiving?” Steven held up his plate again.

“I finished enjoying Thanksgiving yesterday.” I moved a few bins closer to the attic opening. “Now I want to get the Christmas spirit going!”

“Well, how about we compromise.” Steven handed the plate to Alex and reached his hand up for me. “What if we all enjoy the day after Thanksgiving lunch and after that we get the decorations down?”

I looked around at all the bins that surrounded me. “Well…”

“Come on, I’ll even make you a plate.”

I looked down at Steven’s extended hand and sighed. “I guess I can wait until after lunch.” I took his hand as he helped me down the ladder.

Alex was popping the plate into the microwave as I walked into the kitchen. I could see all the leftovers in their Tupperware containers, scattered along the counter top. Steven reached into the cabinet and took out two plates. Handing one to Alex, he kept the other one for himself and looked over at me. “What would you like?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess a little bit of everything.” I walked over to the dining room table and sat down. “Oh, maybe a little extra stuffing might be nice.”

Steven nodded as he loaded up my plate.

I looked out the dining room window watching the fall leaves swirl around in the air before settling into the carpet of leaves that covered the lawn.

I picked up my phone and began scrolling through my friends Thanksgiving pictures. “Do you know how many people have taken their Thanksgiving pictures in front of their Christmas tree!” I cried. “We’re so far behind in our decorating!”

I could hear the microwave beep. Steven took out the plate and walked over to me. “Let’s not worry about that right now. It’s not a competition.” He placed the plate in front of me as he took my phone out of my hand and placed it across the table from me. “How about we enjoy a little more Thanksgiving before we worry about Christmas?”

I sighed as I looked down at the plate heaped with all the Thanksgiving trimmings. “Well, I guess decking the halls can wait another twenty minutes.”

“Make it an hour and I’m all in!” Alex called as he pulled his plate out of the microwave.