Travel Blog

Yesterday I took the Christmas tree down. It is one of life's most definitive the-party's-over moments. Nobody sings "Strip the halls of boughs of holly." The tree, a few weeks ago green and woodsy, is brittle and odorless. The ornaments, hung with holiday expectations, droop forlornly. Everything looks a little tired.

I put the balls in their box and the other ornaments - purchased and handmade - into their box. Then I looped the string of lights into a bunched circle and placed it on top where it sat, strangely but presciently, like a crown of thorns.