Last weekend we opened the gates to Christmas. John brought back a Scotch Pine that was soon named Ginger. She is already decked in about a thousand ornaments from three decades of crafting wooden stars and ribbon balls. The twins and I wrapped a dozen gifts in our reusable fabric bags and slid them under her branches. We had our first few rounds of Find the Ornament, which is simply one person naming a specific decoration and everyone else hunting for it. Our new fondness for chickens, has resulted in a slew of poultry ornaments. 

Making room for Ginger necessitated rearranging furniture. The couch slid over a few feet, the arm chairs migrated to the middle of the room and the quilt stand changed position. When we started shoving, Aurelle found something.

"Here is a puzzle we got last year. It was under the couch. We never put it together."

Although that does reveal something about how often I vaccuum under the sofa, I had to laugh. 

"We'll do it this year then."

It was not as if the puzzle was any worse for the wait. If it lived at Andy and Woody's house the box probably would have come out at night and the pieces danced into position. But the plastic wrap was intact so I think they stayed dormant. 

My daughter has a shirt that says "I'm not dead, I'm just dormant." Her friend bought it at a botanical gardens.  The notion of good things biding their time while we find them appeals to me. Certainly some of the precious people who are still dreaming of finding a marriage partner are hanging their aspirations on the evergreen called Hope.

Some of the qualities I asked for in my marriage have not opened up yet. But there is next year.