Good Bye Christmas

Today I finally took down the last of the Christmas decorations. I took down the train. The toy train we have is from the 70s if not earlier. It belonged to my dad and grandpa and some day I will own it. We always set it up last going around the Christmas tree, by the stereo and then by the couch making a nice loop. After we take down the Christmas tree (my dad chops the branches off in the house) and haul it outside for the cat to play on, I always like making a fun swerving design in the rest of the open space in the living room. Past years my dad and sister would always help. This year dad was too busy it seemed and I had to convince my sister that it would be fun, even though she barely did anything. I played with the train for what seemed like hours while listening to the radio (rock mind you, not Christmas music anymore). I was getting good at adjusting the speed (otherwise it would tip over ~ as it did several times). I even passed notes to my sister who was sitting my the other switch playing on her phone more than with me. What once was a fun family tradition that I longed for once the nip of winter was in the air turned out that I was the only one who enjoyed it. My dad today was making deliveries, mom is at work and sister is gone, so I had the train all to my self. This morning after waking up and brushing my teeth I played with the train. It swerved on the tracks. I had the marble in front of the train going around a few times too (which is very tricky at the curves). It was a blast. But now the train is all packed up in the boxes where it will be stored in the garage until next Christmas where I will once again enjoy playing with the train even if no one else wants to. I always felt closer to my grandpa (who died before I was born) when I played with the train and will remain to play with it for years to come.