Monday, December 05, 2011

Decking the Halls

Decorating for Christmas should be fun and festive and gay.(That is so not PC to say and yet there it is. And I am not taking it back.) In our household it is none of those things. Patrick brings up all of the bins that hold our Christmas treasure. He begins searching for the great balls of tangled lights to plug them in and groan over the ones that simply did not survive since last Christmas. The fake tree is hauled up and shaped into what looks to me, like a real tree. Patrick and I argue over real vs fake. I have never had a real tree in my life. He has. We shall give our children the real tree experience one day. Joshua wanders and wonders how to help and then helps by getting out of the way to text. Sarah seems to instinctively know what goes where, while the little boys fight about which Christmas ornament they made in which grade. I find the stockings and pause over the smallest ones with the names of babies waiting in heaven. We know and love them. I hang the stockings while all children are eventually told to stop helping and wait until we are done. The whole ordeal is messy and chaotic and frenzied and loud. Not sure we should be so surprised as it is just another day in paradise.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Carla,
Your stories remind me of my childhood often. :)

My mom and dad debating over a real or fake tree.

My sister and I arguing over whose ornaments ate whose.

When my brother, sister and I were old enough... Trying to get out of helping.

My dad messing with trying to figure out the lights.

I have been having a rough morning. Thank you for making me smile. :)

Love, Jana

Anonymous said...

Whoa... Meant to say are there but said ate. Ornaments eating ornaments.... Now that's funny. Haha

kristi noser said...

Dear Jana,
Thank you for the funny picture in my head of ornaments eating each other.

Carla said...

Jana,

I am sorry you are having a rough morning. :(

THANK YOU for reminding me that maybe, just maybe yesterday's chaos could be tomorrow's fond memories.

"Hey, your ornament ate mine!"

"It did not! Your ornament ate mine!"

"No it didn't!! MOM!!!"

kristi noser said...

and so it goes.

Anonymous said...

Glad I could help! :)

No really. My mom finally got the bright idea of writing our names on top of the boxes (at least the ones that went in boxes) so we wouldn't argue.

We also used to argue over who got to put the nativity set up each year.

But a fond memory I have is when we are all done, turning off all the lights in the house except the tree and relaxing by the tree.
Jana

Carla said...

Relaxing sounds nice. Doesn't happen here but that does sound nice.