The decorations are out and we just spent a big part of the weekend starting to string them! I LOVE the holiday season, everything about it brings me joy, and I honestly don't even know why. The shopping, the decorating, the cookie baking, the family gatherings, and yes even the presents, I LOVE it all! In the months leading up to November we spend hours of time, pulling out the lights, testing them string by string, and repairing them as necessary. I start to get design ideas in my head, and I start the confectionery menu list. When the clock strike Halloween, the decorating begins, and Christmas lasts all the way through January for my family and I.
Christmas was always a special time in my family. My parents were not rich but somehow Christmas was always magical. We'd follow all the traditions, but my favorite of all was going to see the Christmas lights around our city. I was always fascinated by what the creative people would come up with and enjoyed when their ideas came to life. We always decorated our home. It was simple and basic but we always had lights and a tree. I remember dreaming of one day having a house to decorate. I wanted to be "that" house. The one people drive by and gawk at, and while we are no where near there, I'd like to believe we are getting closer.
Prior to being homeowners, we fancied ourselves Christmas decorators. We lived in a tiny apartment but would go above and beyond to bring holiday cheer, so much so that it was almost impossible to find me in a bad mood once the holly was up. All that cheer, reminds me that life is not so bad. When folks would say, I was going too crazy or over decorating, I would in most cases disregard them. Who made them the Christmas decoration police? People would assume, I was doing this to make my children happy, and while of course I want to make my children happy, the decorations probably bring them a bit of stress in the beginning, as there is an expectation of them to help put it all up. And, while I am sure I drive my husband nuts, I swear deep down he enjoys it. Why else would he do all this work? Before you say to make me happy, I do believe it started like that but has escalated to him enjoying it just as much as I do. It creates family bonding time (which is few and far between at my children's ages), and hopefully a little bit of it will rub off onto them as they carry on in their own lives.
It 's always been about the tradition for me, continuing old ones, starting new ones and doing it all with family. Family, after all, is the most important thing to me, and traditions, although superfluous, bring us together, allowing us to hopefully "stick" together for always. I try like every mom to instill this in my children. I know they "hear" me, the real question is whether or not they are listening. Only time will tell. For now, we keep up with it, enjoy doing together as a family and celebrate the season. Do you decorate for Christmas?