Mark My Words

I fired up my work laptop this morning for the first time in 10 days. Glad I remembered my password. Setting it to “password” was the smartest move I ever made; I’ll never forget it now!

I kid. Michael Scott I am not.

These two weeks around the holidays are such a weird, in-between time, it barely registered that today was a work day. I actually, honestly and truly, forgot that I was no longer on vacation. With 60% of my small team out today and tomorrow, and Wednesday and Thursday state holidays, it’s a wonder I even know what day it is.

Plus, there’s still eggnog in the fridge and leftover Spritz cookies. Can you blame my confusion?

Thankfully, I did not have to venture into the office today. Sunday was foggy and mild, and it rained nonstop most of the day. And then, after dark, the temperature dropped, the winds kicked in, and the rain turned to snow. Not a ton – maybe two inches tops, definitely not enough to break in my new snowshoes – but with 40-mph gusts and blowing snow, the roads were icy and drifted over in spots. It looks (and feels) like winter again.

It does not look like Christmas, though. Not around MarTar Manor. True to my word, I took advantage of nice weather on Saturday and spent four hours un-decorating the house, inside and out. Probably thirty minutes was spent just staring at all the stuff on the floor, paralyzed by indecision, trying to figure out the most strategic way to pack it up. Getting started is always the hardest part. I lamented out loud all the work that was ahead of me yet. “Take a picture, so you’ll remember this next year,” Tara suggested.

So, I did.

This request wasn’t as random as it might seem. My wife is a crafty one, and not nearly as spirited as I am around the holidays. Before we started dating, she never even bothered putting up a tree, let alone dozens of Santa and reindeer and snowman knickknacks, a six-piece Christmas village, giant plastic ornaments suspended from the ceiling, festive outdoor lights, a vintage blow-mold Santa, etc. She is hoping Future Mark will take one look at this photo, realize what a chore boxing everything up is, and scale down on the 2026 decorations.

Present Mark says, Good luck with that, babe. Yes, putting everything away is time-consuming and a lot of work. But the joy it brings me makes it all worthwhile. I’ll never scale back. In fact, I’m always trying to figure out how we can make our displays bigger and better.

I did make one concession, though: we’ll stick to our fake tree next year. As nice as the real one was, it’s a hassle getting it inside and back out. I found myself constantly on my knees or stomach, topping off the water. Engineered hardwood is hell on the joints, man. And, of course, the pine needles get everywhere.

Speaking of trees, I should add that our house isn’t 100% un-Christmased. We are keeping our Denver Broncos tree up in the basement until their season is over. No, this does not mean I’m one of those superstitious sports nuts.

(OK, it totally means I’m one of those superstitious sports nuts.)

Hopefully, it’ll still be standing on Sunday, February 8.

Actually, for a few hours Saturday evening, we were the world’s biggest Texans fans. Tara and I were hanging out at our favorite Irish pub in town, and they had the Chargers-Texans game on. A Houston victory meant our Broncos would clinch the AFC West, ending a 10-year Chiefs reign. We cheered loudly every time the Texans scored and the Chargers did not. In a bar full of Packers fans, we stood out like sore thumbs – but who cares? Nobody in Wisconsin gives us grief about our NFL allegiance.

It might be a different story if we were Bears fans…

But we’re not. And when the Texans won, we whooped and hollered like we’d just won the lottery. It was a fun night out and the perfect way to unwind after a productive day.

The next day, Tara pointed out that our bar tab was higher than that week’s grocery bill. Oops. But I figure, we’re having a low-key New Year’s Eve at home, playing cards and listening to records instead of venturing out, so we won’t be spending any money that night. It’s all a wash in the end. And also, I can justify anything. It’s another skill I’m proud of, like manifesting and always picking out the perfect gift.

Speaking of NYE, this’ll be my last post for the year. A lot of bloggers like to do year-end wrap-ups (me too, sometimes), but I don’t have the time or energy to put something fancy like that together this year. Besides, I’ve gotta go shovel the driveway.

I’ll just say, despite the many challenges facing this country – topmost being this godawful administration, who seem bound and determined to destroy every last vestige of democracy – I choose, as always, to focus on the positive. And in that regard, 2025 was a good year. We traveled more, remodeled our kitchen (blue beat red, which I expect to happen in the 2026 midterms, too), saw my brother/SIL for the first time in years, and I crushed my Goodreads Reading Challenge (goal: 20, completed: 29, I rule!).

May 2026 bring you joy, peace, and prosperity. Blog on!