Well, it's December.
Time to pull the Christmas decorations out of the cold attic,
make a fire (or turn on the gas),
get a cup of hot chocolate,
and play the first of many Christmas carols
while putting up the tree and deciding where to put what.
The only problem is
it's 80 degrees outside!
The attic is hot as we struggle to get everything out.
And forget the fire and hot chocolate.
Let's fire up the airconditioner and make some iced tea!
But all is ok as soon as the first box is opened
and the magic of Christmas begins.
The heat is soon forgotten
as memories come flooding back.
Now that I have grandchildren, my decorating has evolved.
Gone are the days of fragile decorations.
The glass angels and ceramic santas stay safe in the attic.
The village and trains are going to stay packed for a few years too.
Instead, my latest theme is teddy bears!
Lots and lots of teddy bears!
And, when decorating the tree,
all the fun ornaments are at the bottom
where little eyes can see them and little hands can take them off,
and maybe put them back somewhere else.
Thankfully, gone are the days of worrying about perfection.
Of worrying about what others will think.
Of worrying about something getting broken.
Christmas now is about something more important.
It's about watching the joy in a three year old's face as she walks into the room
and is told she can play with the bears.
It's about NOT saying "Don't Touch!" when she wants to inspect the ornaments.
It's about seeing the tree get re-decorated, or finding ornaments
in unexpected places
later in the day.
Until next time ~
Terri
