'Tis the Season

When our kids were little, there was a family one house over from us that brought color to the street. Not just because the father was a disbarred lawyer, or because as a kid one of their sons had a habit of standing naked in front of his bedroom window (or so the family next door said), or because the other brother occasionally chased the older sister out of the house with a knife, or even because their house suspiciously caught on fire – resulting in a new facelift for the place.

          No, we’ll always remember them for their love of holidays. All of them. All at once.

 At Christmas, the wreath would go up on the front door. In February a big Valentine heart would go on the wreath, joined in March by a green St. Patrick’s Day cloverleaf. Come Easter, a smiling bunny face with ears would top the clover, and so on. I’m not sure at what point they started fresh and began the layering anew.

          They must have cousins here in town because a house on my usual errand route has been treating passersby to a similar seasonal display. In October, they affixed a homemade ghost – ball for the head, with white fabric cinched over it – to their mailbox for Halloween. In November, an orange fall wreath was hooked over to the left of the ghost, with a top hat (pilgrims?) added later to the ghost.  A few days later, (election enthusiasm?) an American flag waved cheerily from next to the wreath.

          I’m thinking some Christmas lights over the whole shebang would really finish things off, but for now their red Trump flag to the ghost’s right will just have to do.