Christmas Down South

CHRISTMAS DOWN SOUTH.

It's Christmastime in the south. I pulled my Christmas box of decorations out this morning, then sat on the floor next to the box, and fell into a trance. I dreamed of Christmas in the past, present, and future, but I'm no Scrooge.

I planned on putting my Christmas decorations out today, but it doesn’t feel like Christmas time in Louisiana. The weather outside feels like spring, not winter, which is great, but the state of Louisiana is confused, meaning, it thinks it's spring, it’s behind the rest of the states in America on everything from fashion to politics, so I’m not surprised.

Hopefully, the wintery scent of our crispy pines will sail down the muddy Mississippi soon.

Every year, I drag my decorated old lady tree out of the box a few days after Thanksgiving, although this year it felt heavier. I would have never dreamed I would have a fake tree already decorated. I used to laugh at my grandmother's packaged tree, and now I have one.

I call it the "empty nest" tree, the one that you put up every Christmas in case your children stop by, or anyone else for that matter.

Although, due to the springtime weather, I'm sure I'll have visitors because everyone has their windows open in my apartment complex, and southerners are nosey, which is fine, everyone is curious, but they try to pretend their minding their own business, when they're not.

For instance, when I started putting up my decorations, I saw my neighbor gawking in my direction, and when I waved at her she quickly turned her head as if I was invading her privacy.

That was when I decided to hide behind the box and watch my cat sunning himself by the bedroom window.

I bet my neighbor wondered what I was doing, 'cause I could see her bobbing her head up and down out of the corner of my eye, I'm sure she was decorating her apartment too, but she just had to know what I was doing.

In fact, I bet the whole town is covering their homes with Christmas lights and moving decorations of Santa and his reindeer while the electric company counts money.

Southerners are “down right" eccentric, especially at this time of the year.

I lay by my box feeling like an ornament someone swept across the floor.

But, I forced myself to get up and dance in front of my own Glady's Kravitz as I decorate my apartment.

After all it’s Christmastime in the south.

I wonder what song I should dance too, any ideas?