This was a quote from Corey several years ago. I had him flat on his back under the tree trying to do something ridiculous and he immediately was injured. It seems that Christmas decorating is always fraught with peril. I really tried to make it not so this year. We got our tree up without incident, the only pain there was in our hearts as we remembered everything missing from this Christmas. But we carry on, becuase we still haveso many blessings.
Yesterday we came to his mom’s to help her get her decorations up. There were backaches, stubbed toes, pokes and scrapes, a broken ornament and a broken wooden statue. Santa is NOT going to make one more ride around the entertainment center (he took his Last Ride the last 3 years and we decided not put him through it one more time.) Stephie told us the story of how Corey went to the store when he was little and told people that he and Colleen had to go into another room when daddy put the lights up becuase he said bad words. I recounted the first Christmas Corey and I dated where he called me from his hiding place behind the kitchen counter while his dad wrestled lights onto the tree. In he proceeding years Colleen and Stephie gave up and just started doing lights themselves.
It gets a little stressful, but I really love every minute of it. The grumbles are way drowned out by the laughter. When the “Oh No”s come out I get a little giggle. Because this is my family and I love them.
My mom’s decorating is a little less dramatic. She starts by getting everything out of the attic and threatening to bring it down herself. I swear her to leave it alone and promise Corye will bring it all down. Then she calls daily asking when we will come over and put up the tree. If she can’t mail down a date she simply says she will do it all herself – this gets me to commit to a date. Once we ge there Corey brings down the buternut soup box with the Nativity in it, 2 big totes full of ornaments, and 2 other totes filld with random decorations. Mom convinces someone else to put ont he lights and putters about hanging stockings, garland and creepy little elves. Then, we put up ornaments until we all get tired of it. I look through the boxes making sure we didn’t skip anything good. But now that she has a skinny tree, I just quit before they are all up.
The last ornaments on my mom’s tree are 2 bird ornaments. We always saved those 2 for my dad to put up when he got home from work. Now that he is gone, Corey puts them up. Thn we turn off all the lights and admire the lovely tree – sometimes with a toast of a little cherry herring or bailey’s.
I may not have signed up for any christmas classes, but I will share some of my traditions here. Feel free to share yours in the comments!
