Hello December – I'm not Ready Yet!
I should begin by saying that I LOVE, LOVE LOVE Christmas. I specifically love Christmas decorations of all types. In a good year, I have at least 5 decorated theme trees. I love the greenery, I love the lights. I just love it all. But this year I am not quite ready. I considered taking my own advice and not decorating inside the house at all (minus the door wreath, outside is James’ territory) and James even said “You know you don’t have to decorate at all”. Part of me didn’t want to do a thing. No tree, no ornaments. Nothing. However, I needed something to feel “normal”. The days, weeks and months are moving forward and as much as I want time to stop for a few minutes, I also know that it is important to mark time. Rituals of the holidays are markers for all of us in many ways whether it be religious or secular. When I think about it, there is no way I could exclude Christmas decorations from my life. Even last year in the midst of Mom’s illness, I decorated three trees of my own and one for her. So I have compromised with my expectations. There will be only two trees this year and I am not pulling out all of my decorations. The feat is exhausting in a good year and yesterday I was more exhausted than normal after doing only a quarter of what I typically do. I believe I inherited my love of Christmas from my Mom. She had more Christmas items than you could imagine and although I took many decorations, I also made the decision to let others go. For one quick moment, I thought about keeping everything and then I remembered that I DIDN’T need everything and what was important was to keep what mattered. Over the next 25 days, I am going to periodically participate with Amber Marie of After April in her 25 days of Christmas ornaments and sharing some of my Christmas ornaments and creations. Specifically, this year I am using one of Mom’s trees as our kitchen tree. I also used many of her last ornaments that she chose before she died (yes, she did colors and themes also). Today I am sharing the new wreath I made for our front door. I have shared that I love to be creative and it isn’t unusual for me to make a new wreath every month or two. When it comes to 2013, I basically reused past wreaths and left them hanging for months at a time. I didn’t have the energy or desire. I knew that I needed a new wreath this year but I also like to reuse material (we are on a green and red theme outside). It was fun to pull things apart last week and to create something new. I also have to add that I ended up not liking my first creation and I rebuild the wreath last night. I’ve missed my creative side and I have to make time to create. I will later share another wreath I made for inside the house. Time is flying by and I can’t believe December is here again. In some ways, I look back at the past months and if it weren’t for this blog and my personal journals, I would find it hard to believe where I have been. This month will be busy with the end of the semester, trainings to attend and get togethers to enjoy. My prayer is to attempt each day to take a small moment to enjoy what I do have. I hope and pray you can do the same also.
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