A small story:

A while ago, on a rainy Saturday before Christmas (which had lasted about seven months), my friend was staring bleakly at her daughters who were alternately torturing each other and her because it wasn't Christmas yet and the Shelf Elf wouldn't exist for years.

— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) December 12, 2021

Which, they did.

For almost an hour – an eternity in small-child parenting – there was quiet and peace and almost no pinching. Once the ornaments were dry, they hung them outside in the yard because, as my friend said, "That glitter will never leave the living-room carpet."

— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) December 12, 2021

Each year, a few got replaced or their glitter was freshened up or suddenly an old ornament developed feathers and a few more were added. By the time the girls were teens, they didn't make them any more but woe betide the mother who didn't zsush the yard.

— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) December 12, 2021

Every year, my friend would send me the same text:

"Is this tacky? I feel as if it's tacky. I love it, but it's tacky, right?"

Every year, I'd write back, "No, it's cheerful."

"Not mutually exclusive," she'd respond.

The girls went to college.

— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) December 12, 2021

"I think I've become THAT empty-nester," she texted me, sending me a picture of the box in the yard, then added, "Please stop me if I start cooking special meals for the dog."

For the twentieth year in a row, she decorated the yard and watched the people walking her block.

— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) December 12, 2021

Within three years, several of the elderly couples sold their houses to families with small children. Within ten years, the parents of teens were hosting bridal and then baby showers.

Eventually, those couples moved out and were replaced by new families with small children.

— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) December 12, 2021

We were on FaceTime as she showed me the yard.

"This was the first year," she said, "That people kept thanking me for doing this. People said they like how the ornaments look at night. A couple of them even said it's not the holidays until our yard is decorated."

— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) December 12, 2021

"It's silly," my friend mumbled and this woman shook her head vehemently.

"It's not silly. I babysit a two year old and we have to walk past your house every day so she and I can look at your yard. It makes people happy. The nights are long right now. We need a little light."

— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) December 12, 2021

My friend let the FaceTime drift from the babysitter to an ornament, layered with years of artistic endeavor.

"The yard looks wonderful," I said.

For once, she didn't disagree.

— Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) December 12, 2021