this holiday season is not quite going the way i had envisioned. our house is still not done and won't be done until january. all of our decorations are deep in storage, which means that many of the traditions we continue each year will have to be put on hold this year.
i had a good cry about it and now, well, now i am coming to accept it and try to mindfully be here, now. enjoy this moment for what it is, instead of for what i hoped it would be.
we have a beautiful tree, completely decorated with homemade ornaments (mostly made from stuff we had around the house or yard). we are fully enjoying our advent activities. the kids don't seem to notice the homemade advent calendar i made last year is not here with us, when they find the little slip of paper in a special jar each morning.
i am trying not to let the lack of decorations that i look forward seeing to each year stop me from getting into the holiday spirit. i have christmas music on and christmas cards displayed, and that will have to do this year.
i have two singing, dancing healthy children (and one on the way!) who remind me everyday what is most important. it is not a house, or decorations, or traditions. it is us. together. enjoying each day as it is... and maybe just a little bit of dreaming of next year.
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What a bittersweet post. I would have probably had more than just a little cry. I'm probably abnormally attached to my Christmas decorations and memories. I'm sure the hardest part was that there were such high hopes to be in your new house.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, this will be the Christmas that was simple. The Christmas that all you had was all that matters. It will become one of your sweetest and most memorable because it was different. And I bet your new homemade ornaments become some of your lifelong favorites!
Funny. Our new house has no decorations and I am ok with it because my mother lives down the street and her decor is over the top. It includes a collection of 50 Santas(kinda freaks me out). As a child, my favorite memory is warmth. Waking up to a heated home on Christmas morning. That is all it took to feel the christmas spirit. Also, every year I would see Rudolph in the sky. I have a vivid memory of my brother pointing him out even though he was past his Santa years. So, cliche but, as one of my second grade students whispered to me "mrs. Meiring Christmas is not about gifts it is about the love of your family." Your lovely children will love it no matter what.
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