I don’t know about you, but the sight of Christmas decorations after Jan. 1 depresses me. Especially since we’ve been seeing them in the stores since Halloween. Enough already! One of the worst offenders is those plastic icicles people hang across their front porch. You’re apt to see them all summer long. Makes you wonder. Are these people Christmasphiles, or simply too lazy to take them down? But there’s one sign of Christmas that refuses to go away. Diehard poinsettias hang on and on forever.
It’s hard to let a pretty flowering plant wither and die. Unless, maybe, you have no appreciation for nature’s gifts. Sometimes, I decide to let my poinsettias die a natural death. And yet, when they begin to droop and wilt, something propels me to water them. They’re so brave and hardy. They want to please us and hang around to brighten our lives.
Walking in the mall, I noticed several offices still have flowering poinsettias perched on desktops. And yes, they’re a gloomy reminder of a holiday long past. Sooner or later, they’re going to disappear from sight. Maybe when the daffodils begin to bloom in the spring. So how do you handle the demise of your now unwanted flower/ child? I’ve been known to keep them on the deck in the summer. But they still look out of place. Usually, I harden myself to the fact that they really must go. Reluctantly, I may put them outside where they freeze to death. And then, furtively, I throw them in the trash can, the lonely leaves now withered and brown.