Happy January all! This past week I surprised myself by de-decorating and packing up all the holiday goodies. In the past, I savored it all until at least the second week of January, but alas the tree, and garland have been taken curbside and the house somehow feels lighter. In the past I would have said empty, hmmmm. In the last few days, with great vigor, I have been happy to embrace January decor…whatever that is!
And each year when it all gets packed away with the promise of next year, I think of my Nana. As the story goes she would be so saddened when the Christmas tree was taken down that my Pop-pop, bless his heart, would buy her bunches of flowers to help fill the void, mostly carnations so as to last as long as possible.
Nana was totally into flower arranging, entering competitions, taking classes and relishing the nuances of how things “fit together.” I have a lingering memory from her funeral that a woman I didn’t know spoke about my Nana’s love of flowers, and how she would always say that when you arrange them, you have to “give them space to nod.” In essence, don’t just jam them all in there and call it a day. I take this woman’s memory as a gift, and as I pack up my holidays each year I go out and buy flowers and attempt to arrange them in such a way so as to let each one nod.
It’s a work in progress but one that always makes me smile.
xo,
Kelly
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