Pre Christmas Gene gets kind of nervous this time of year thinking about what’s ahead. Not the wonderful celebration of Christ’s birthday, but just knowing he will have to deal with the awful mess that Post Christmas Gene left last January.
Pre Christmas Gene has great plans for decorating the house in and out to celebrate the holiday. The difficult tasks will be well worth the effort. Post Christmas Gene will eventually feel like the hired help who has to clean up after the celebration. His efforts will be less eager and less precise.
Pre Christmas Gene will be decorating the tree, putting up the Nativity scene and hanging Yuletide items like the grandkids’ hand-drawn cards and the mistletoe. The outside lights will have their technical and physical problems, but when the switch is finally thrown, all the aches, pains, electric shocks and ladder falls will be forgotten. An occasional passerby’s “Ooh!” or “Aah!” is all that will be needed.
Act II begins in early January. Post Christmas Gene will be reminded that all the decorations have to be promptly removed, boxed, labeled correctly and carried to the attic. They cannot be left until Easter when their message will be confusing.
Post Christmas Gene will do his best, but there will be very strong temptations and diversions to overcome. The Rose Parade will cause a long interruption, followed by a dozen Bowl games. Post Gene will work swiftly, but not accurately, during the time outs and the half time shows. Helter-skelter will be the most accurate description of his efforts.
Early next December, Pre Christmas Gene will find six boxes in the attic, all marked “Christmas Decorations Miscellaneous”. He will say to Post Christmas Gene, “Have a Merry Christmas! I know you did your best.”
Imagine That 