For your viewing enjoyment here are some pictures of Christmas trees we have had over
the years.
2004
2006
2009
2010
Those trees were fine. But I
always wanted something GRAND. Beautiful
and sophisticated and Glamorous and Breathtaking. And I couldn't ever do it. My favorite trees at the Festival of Trees
were always the ones with huge ornaments and beauty and grace and a touch of
whimsy. And I bought a few huge
ornaments, but it was never good enough. I
just couldn't accomplish what I envisioned.
And it seemed to be made worse by
my unfinished Family Room, which made me very angry at the room for not being done yet. Stupid Room! It was ruining Christmas!
Richard has long preferred colored lights on a tree. And as inflexible as I am, I finally gave
in, even though they are neither sophisticated nor grand. We have adopted this new method of
compromise when it comes to our tastes and opinions, since we both have
them. We take turns. This year we’ll decorate the tree the way HE
likes it, and next year it is my turn again, etc., etc.
So we put colored lights on the tree. And then started hanging some of our many Christmas balls, but after just one bag full Richard said that was enough. Really? I've got a giant box full of these things. That is all you want? Yeah, he said. They are all just too fancy for him.
So we put colored lights on the tree. And then started hanging some of our many Christmas balls, but after just one bag full Richard said that was enough. Really? I've got a giant box full of these things. That is all you want? Yeah, he said. They are all just too fancy for him.
So then we pulled out the little box of ornaments from down at
the bottom of the Christmas tub, the ones that never get used. The ones that didn't fit into any style or color
theme I ever had going on. The ones I
got from people on my mission. The ones
Harrison made in school and in church.
The ones that have been given to us as gifts in Christmas past. And as we hung them I realized how sad it is
that I've never used them before. I've never even hung my own son’s handmade ornaments on the tree because they didn't match. My dumb stuck-up tree was always
too full of itself to let those who were different into its little clique. What an arrogant, elitist tree!
Then I started thinking how fun it would be to finally make
some of those great handmade ornaments I've seen on pinterest. And how cool it would be to give the boys an
ornament each Christmas as a memento of the year. And with all these personalized, unique
ornaments, our tree could grow with our family and act as a cone-shaped
scrapbook of our life together. Maybe,
just maybe, my tree shouldn't be a symbol of style and sophistication, but of
our family.
This feels very right to me. And was probably obvious to everyone else, but it has taken me 10 years to get here. And I like it. It sits warm deep in my belly and makes the coming holiday feel simple
and exciting. So now I’m thinking the
colored lights might stay.
But now I’m also stuck with Richard having the ultimate say
of what goes on the tree for the rest of the year. Do you think I could talk him into letting us
put a paper chain on it? Maybe a string
of popcorn?
Colored lights are pretty homey, aren't they?
And sometimes they make your house look like a Sci-Fi Disco
Party.
