We have our tree up! In fact, we have three. All of them even have lights now, which actually proved more challenging than we thought. You see, first, we ran out of lights after two and a half trees (that's what happens when you go from one tree to three). So then we took the lights off one and a half of the trees and redistributed them. (The other tree had colorful lights, and we wanted the two remaining trees to have white.) After getting everything looking great (with the help of an outdoor light net), two strands of lights died on us. Daniel, our resident handyman, tinkered with them and succeeded in fixing one, but the second refused to be revived. Dad saved the day by running to the store for a few more boxes of lights, and we are now (hopefully) done with that step of decorating. Though I have to say, I was getting pretty good at stringing lights!
After the lights comes my favorite part of decorating for Christmas, putting the ornaments on the tree. As we pull them out of the box, it's more than just glass and glitter that we hold in our hands, it's a memory. Each one has a story. Some are store-bought, some hand made. Some are beautiful, some are downright ugly. All of them are treasures. The memories that come bring a variety of emotions. Most are joyful. We talk about who gave us this one and laugh at how the child (who is now an adult) made that one. However, some of the memories are bittersweet. We are reminded of those who are no longer a part of our lives, and we silently hang ornaments that belong to loved ones who can't be with us this Christmas. Each memory, though, in its own way is good, and we are grateful for them all. So, although it may look as though our tree is filled with an odd assortment of mix-matched ornaments, it really is filled with wonderful memories. As I look at our tree throughout the Christmas season, I am continually reminded of the many blessings I have received.
~Elisabeth Macy~