It Only Feels A Bit Like Yardsmas

Barley, a dog, sits in front of some front lawn Christmas decorations, including a large ball ornament and an even larger arch that, confusingly, is a kind of figurative ball ornament.

I can think of all sorts of reasons why, but my overall impression is that the holiday spirit is fairly muted in general this year. My own family is celebrating in a more modest, scaled-back way, and that seems to be true for everyone else I talk to. Now, this could of course be an information silo problem, but I feel as though there’s more to it than that. Walking Barley at considerable length this month, I’ve seen fewer and smaller seasonal yard decorations than I’m used to. When driving after the annoyingly early fall of darkness, I see fewer lights. Even this photo is misleading, because it was taken some weeks ago, and when I walked past the same spot yesterday, these decorations had been taken down and the house apparently restored to its non-seasonal appearance.

All of which is to say, if you’re feeling exhausted, I get it, and I’m right there with you. I hope you’re taking it easy, and sleeping in. Don’t bother keeping up with the Joneses, do what you gotta do to recharge those batteries for the year ahead.