Why worry? Have the pros put up your Christmas lights this year

You’ve got plenty of time before you have to start worrying about putting up the Christmas lights and decorations. But, why wait when you can start worrying now?

Of course, it’s worth all the effort, isn’t it? The lights are so beautiful, if your husband takes his time and does a good job. Even if he rushes through it, you can always squint your eyes when you look at the house and the haphazard way he threw the lights at the house.

How much time he spends – how much attention he gives to detail – when putting up the lights and decorations usually depends on the weather. If it’s a nice late-autumn day, he’ll take his time. He’ll make sure every Christmas light is in its place and every light is lighted. But, if he’s out there on a bitterly cold and window day, possibly in freezing rain or snow, consider yourself lucky if the lights go up at all.

The truth is, you don’t have to worry about it now. You can put off worrying – worrying about the hassle of digging the lights out of the attic, checking the light strings to make sure they work, and hoping they’ll still work after your husband puts them up on the house. You can wait to worry when the holiday draws nearer.  But, there is another choice – don’t worry at all.

Not worrying at all may sound ridiculous. Why, it’s almost a Christmas tradition to worry, isn’t it?
And, how will the lights get up if you don’t worry. So far, we haven’t even mentioned about how you’ll worry that your husband will fall off the ladder while putting up the Christmas lights.

If he falls from the ladder, hopefully, all that happens is he gets hurt a big – breaks a leg or arm – anything but his neck. Still, he hasn’t fallen off a ladder while putting up the lights in the last 20-or-so holiday seasons; why would he fall now? And yet, he is getting older. Can he climb the ladder, and work on top of the ladder, as safely as he has in the past?

So, how does that fit into not worrying? Imagine putting up the lights without sending your husband up a ladder. It’s possible. You can actually have someone else put up the Christmas lights. It’s a present for your husband – he doesn’t have to brave the weather and the ladder. And it’s a present for you – you don’t have to worry if he’s not going up the ladder where professionals are.

Little finger prints on the windows – the kids are back in school – time to put the house back in order

Time to clean those fingerprints off the windows

 Summer was wonderful, wasn’t it? So, why are you so happy that the little ones are going back to school? Could it be that you actually welcome a little peace and quiet while they’re away for seven hours or so five days each week? Maybe you can start by doing something about the fingerprints they’ve left all over the house, including the fingerprints on the windows.

Yes, you probably did enjoy the time you had with your children this past summer. It doesn’t make you a bad parent that you appreciate they’re going back to school. It makes you normal. As much as you love them, they’re a handful. They’re full of energy and they put their hands all over everything.

Grab a cup of coffee and have a seat by the window looking out on the yard. This is your time. It’s the part of the day when you kick back, take a deep breath and relax. But, as you look out the window, you can’t help but notice the view is distorted by your youngest’s fingerprints. In fact, there’s a set of handprints on the window – a right and a left. In between the handprints it looks as though … no, that is her nose and mouth print on the window.

What was she looking at? Maybe there was a cardinal or a squirrel out in the yard. Maybe it was a rainy summer day and she was looking outside, longingly, wishing she could go out and play. Whatever brought her over to the window, it’s time for these tell-tale signs to go.

It’s not spring cleaning but you’ll still give the house a good once over; you’ll make sure things are clean and in their place. But don’t forget the windows. Your phone is full of photos and videos to help you remember the summer of 2017; you don’t need smears on your windows as reminders.  It’s time to wipe those fingerprints off the windows so you can have your quiet place back unencumbered.