Decorating the House

 

I started to decorate the house today for Christmas.  I still have a long way to go, but I'm enjoying the process.  Now that class is done for the semester and I can take a breath, it's nice to have the time to do something like this and not be stressing about other things.  And I can take my time with it.  There's no rush as I don't really have any holiday plans.  I am doing this simply for myself.  I love it and it brings me joy.  And it does take a long time because, you know me, I have to stop and go through every box and look at everything.  Oh, the memories they all bring back to me of Christmases past.  It is the wonder of the holiday season that decorating brings to me that I love.

When I was growing up in Monroe, we always decorated sometime the first week of December.  Sometimes it may have been in November but only...and I mean only...if Thanksgiving was early.  Thanksgiving was sacred to Mom and nothing was to take the focus away from that holiday.  However, the decorations were always up by my birthday.  Not always the tree, but by my birthday.  There were some years that decorating the tree occurred on my birthday, which was just fine with me.  Dad and Bill always got the lights put on and then Mom, Grandmother and I would decorate the tree.  Later on, Bill was allowed to help us decorate LOL

There was always great anticipation from me in getting the decorations out.  The nativity Grandmother painted was always a treasure to see.  There were decorations that Mom and Dad had since before Bill and I came along that were always put out.  Some were broken and mended but they still made their appearances.  Now, I have some in my house and Bill has some in his.  I love that we have taken that part of our upbringing to pass on and share with others.  There were some decorations that got tossed for reasons I don't know.  We used to have this huge set of three bells that hung on the closet door in the front hall.  They were made of gum balls. Not the kind you eat but the kind that are a pain to rake up in the yard.  I have no clue who made them or whatever became of them but they were there for years.  We also had a wax candle nativity set that Uncle Bill and Aunt Jan gave to my parents one year.  Of course, we never lit the candles, but it was put out in the front hall every year.  I remember I always loved the way it smelled.  There was also a patchwork quilted wreath that hung over the mantle.  It was very colorful and handmade and no clue what happened to it.  But these things live on in my mind and my heart.

So, as I continue to decorate the house, I will continue the trips down memory lane.  Maybe I'll get it all done by my birthday.  If not, no worries.  I will enjoy the process either way!