We have yet to get out our holiday lights, but I can tell you right now it’s going to be the same story it is every year. We will get them out and it’ll take us hours to get them untangled. My husband will swear, I will have to leave the house and at least two strands will have to be replaced. I often offer to get more so we can just throw the tangled ones out, but that idea is always met with a grunt. It’s as if untangling holiday lights is something that proves my husband is a man.

My husband has good intentions. He wants to save money so he doesn’t want to buy any more holiday lights each year. They don’t cost a lot, but apparently I am missing the point when I tell him that. He takes his time and decorates for the holidays, but when it comes time to take the holiday lights down, that’s when the problems happen. Once the fun is over, he is in a huge hurry to get everything down and put away. He shoves everything into the tubs we use for storage and then wonders why they are all tangled the next year.

We used to hang holiday lights outside, but it became a bit of a joke. Just like with the inside lights, he never wanted to bother with the outside holiday lights once the season was over. They would hang outside for months. It went on for so long that I would start to get embarrassed and would have to take them down by myself. I would always find a way to hurt myself and then I would have to hear about that. I’m beginning to think he’s a big ol’ holiday grump.

This year I am going to go out and buy all new holiday lights whether he likes it or not. I don’t care if he has a fit. I am tired of hearing him complain about the tangled lights and I’m not going to put up with it this year. I am looking for new colors of holiday lights anyway, and there is no reason to fight to unwind a ball of lights that we’ve had since 1996. It’s time to move into the future and he’s going to do it, even if it means dragging him kicking and screaming while wrapped up in holiday lights that have seen better days.