I grew up,
very long ago,
in another world,
the Land of Just-So.
This went here,
that went there,
in the Land of Just-So,
a scrupulous air.
Monday awash
in detergent solution,
all things foldable,
household ablution.
Tuesday’s iron,
clothesline scent,
dampened hankies,
Helen Trent.
Saturday’s shoes,
shampoo and set,
all spit-polished
for Sunday’s debt.
Christmas! Caution!
Order ruled!
In art of tinsel
were we schooled.
Lights with ruffs
like daisy petals,
real tree,
hot lights and metals.
Do it this way —
it’s a must!
Peace on earth,
but first we dust!
I remember.
But I disdain
neurotic Christmas
plague and bane,
and have matured
impatient, restive,
thinking cobwebs
might be festive.
I’ve left Just-So
as turtles run
for the saner land of
Just-Get-It-Done!
You may believe me, dear reader, when I say that this gap in my tree, pictured above, would have had my mother grabbing for the smelling salts. Further, there are ornaments that do not hang freely but slouch against other things — and light cords that show! To the fainting couch!
I have written before about Just-So and I’m sure I will again. Everything just so. I still struggle to overcome it, but I’m making good progress.
Oddments 
December 7, 2023 at 11:56 am
I love it Maureen. A description of life as it was in a beautiful poem. My mind immediately returned to putting those long individual strands of tinsel on the tree. It had to be placed one piece at a time. Being poor, when it was time to get rid of the tree, each piece was taken off and stored carefully for next year. Boy, I hated taking those off and trying to get them all to lay flat in a box. Decorations from the past hold dear memories but not so much with the tinsel. 🙂 Happy Thursday!
December 7, 2023 at 12:53 pm
Yes! We did the same thing! Each strand preserved for the next year! How did we survive that tedium? Christmas brings mixed memories for sure! “Life as it was.” I try to tell my grandchildren, but I’m not sure they believe me! Happy Thursday to you too, Judy! Thank you!
December 7, 2023 at 12:01 pm
This was fun! My job on Saturday morning was to dust with some flimsy black cloth and eventually some sort of spray (Pledge, maybe). Saturday evening, those shoes were polished. The tree wasn’t just so, but the outside lights – oh my goodness – those were so just so it wasn’t funny.
December 7, 2023 at 12:58 pm
I’m very glad we did not have outdoor lights until later. It was enough mayhem to get the tree cut to where it would fit under the ceiling. Dad never seemed to be having a good time with that, strange to say. If we’d had to do just-so indoors AND outdoors, we’d have all imploded. As for the sprayed dust cloth, I think they held a particular kind of stickiness that never has washed off. I guess one or two of us grew up with just-so!
December 7, 2023 at 2:47 pm
I might rerun the bar post about my father’s approach to outdoor lighting before Christmas. I miss that man, but…
December 7, 2023 at 4:02 pm
Oh, please do!
December 7, 2023 at 2:05 pm
Oh Maureen, I love this! “Just-so” was a way of life. My dad put the lights on, so they were definitely Just-so. We kids were only allowed to put the non-breakable ornaments on. My mother moved them all anyway to where she wanted them. Tinsel was hung one strand at a time. God forbid you allowed the bottom of a strand of tinsel do drape over a lower branch!
Every strand of tinsel was meticulously removed from the tree and carefully laid over a piece of cardboard and then wrapped in tissue paper until next year. Every ornament was individually wrapped in tissue paper and placed in boxes for storage in our attic.
It was easier in my very early years when we didn’t have tinsel, just popcorn strung on yards of quilting thread and ornaments we created out of construction paper. And when the tree was put outside, the birds had a feast!
Thanks for the walk down Memory Lane. Nothing is exactly Just-so anymore, it’s more like Good Enough! 🤗 Ginger
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December 7, 2023 at 2:42 pm
There’s something to be said for “Good enough,” but those of us who were raised with “Just-so” have a hard time accepting that. I’m working on it, though! “Just So” can get a trifle obsessive. I laughed when I read that you were allowed to hang the non-breakables but then your mother re-arranged them anyway. Your mom sounds a little like mine: there was her way or the wrong way! Thanks for the peek into your just-so years!
December 7, 2023 at 5:12 pm
You brought a memory to life of stringing cranberries and buttons. I’m guessing cranberries were cheap because we sure were poor, and I don’t say that lightly. The buttons came from the factory where my Mom worked. The buttons we put away, but I don’t remember what happened to the cranberries. 🙂
December 7, 2023 at 9:26 pm
What a great memory! Even though it reminds you of some very tough days, it also speaks of another kind of Just So. And its cousin, Making Do. They go together. Very clever decorations. The fate of the cranberries will remain unknown!
December 7, 2023 at 2:46 pm
I can see this rings bells–more like alarms–for quite a few of us. Tinsel one strand at a time on and off. Ornaments just so, Christmas cards just so. Must be why I have such an aversion to decorating. I’m with Ginger–what I do is Good Enough. And I like it that way. 🎄
December 7, 2023 at 4:01 pm
Hear, hear! Good Enough is sometimes even better than Just So because with Good Enough people don’t get their knickers in such a knot. I am chuckling at “alarms” vs “bells.” Exactly.
December 7, 2023 at 4:44 pm
I roared at your commentary! I overheard husband on a phone call, “Well, the [fake] tree is up, but there’s nothing on it yet.” (It’s only been two weeks!) I don’t recall even my mom-and-I saving tinsel, but I DO know she’d have preferred that! I love your poem, too.
December 7, 2023 at 4:54 pm
Thanks, Carol! Two weeks between the appearance of the (fake) tree and the hanging of ornaments seems reasonable to me. One doesn’t want to rush into these things. Too bad you missed the fun of saving tinsel. Given my mother’s habits, it’s a wonder she didn’t iron it before and after.
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December 22, 2023 at 9:13 pm
Now, ‘thinking cobwebs / might be festive’ – that’s the antidote to our times! Thanks for raising a festive smile.
December 22, 2023 at 10:10 pm
And thanks back to you for the same!