live forever Christmas lights!

i have this terrible idea that i deeply love, but every other human despises: 

leaving up christmas decor until the end of winter.

you know you want to also. 

don't we all feel childlike and enchanted in the twinkle of Christmas lights? doesn't the decor of the holidays bring back joyous memories of old?

why in heavens name break it down so rapidly only a few weeks after going through all the work of putting it up?

so, still remains in my home, white lights twinkling through the sheer curtains and intertwined from curtain rods to mantel to piano and every last white light we strung on the outside of our home. it's still january so i feel minimal need to defend myself, but that will fade as February approaches. will we keep them up? will i be permitted by Alejandro--a man normally not worried about timeliness, organization, or pretenses of keeping up with the Joneses--to maintain the darling sparkle of my luminescent electrical pals? hard to say.

the tree came down out of necessity as it was every fire marshal's nightmare. a crisp, brittle, crumbling, and dead bush. but the stockings were on the mantel along with the new nativity scene resting upon the piano. those i packed into the boxes, saying goodbye until next year with a wistful sigh.

we shall see yet how long those remaining bits of Christmas cheer last in our home. we shall see.

plus, our lights look exquisite with the more than twelve inches of snow acting as a veil over the glint of white. glorious!