Christmas tree decorations experience various stages through the years.
When there were toddlers in our house, the only ornaments on the bottom half of the tree were fabric or, at least, unbreakable. Then there began a steady stream of Christmas gifts carefully made with teachers at school. As each boy proudly hung his new ornament on the tree, I noticed that most of the ornaments now nearly reached the top. Oh, they were growing up so quickly! The craft stick sleds and paper angels transitioned to some pretty intricate ornaments from art class. I loved them all.
Still, I admired the homes where the Christmas decorations were carefully chosen and color-coordinated. Our tree was a grand mix of Kid Art 101 and the 50%-off garland from last year’s sale. But, truly, I never minded. Each little ornament was made with such love and given with a big smile and hug.
Then came the Christmas when the boys-now-young-men didn’t come home. It was time to learn to share holidays, and the guys, with the beautiful young ladies God brought into their hearts.
We started to have Christmas Tree v.1 and Christmas Tree v.2. If everyone would be home, all the old family ornaments would be on display. If no one was coming home, I purchased perfectly matched gold balls to go with the gold-lined tree skirt. I was a little surprised; the holiday charm that I was chasing after seemed somewhat less satisfying than expected.
This year, the kids were home for Thanksgiving. The GrandGirls range in age from 9 – 13, so decorating for Christmas is like their second nature. Much to my husband’s “delight,” all the Christmas boxes found their way up from the basement the Friday after Thanksgiving. As we went through the boxes, I handed the ornaments to the child whose daddy had made it so long ago. There were smiles and gleeful running to the tree to put it…about half-way up. I imagine that there will be a day in the not-too-distant-future when the kids keep those ornaments.
In case you’re wondering, I don’t move the ornaments around after everyone leaves. (I also don’t wash fingerprints off the windows for a few weeks, either.)
The old ornaments remain my favorite. I’m putting the gold balls into a bag for the thrift shop.
settingmyhearttohonorhim 