Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Tree trouble


We go the fake tree route because I like to decorate for Christmas way early and a real tree, put up now, just wouldn't make it through the first week of January.

With all of the travel we will be doing the next week or so, we decided to go ahead and put the darn thing up. If I sound a little irritated, it's because it's an old tree, it has millions of branches, and many of the color-coded tabs that tell us where each branch goes, have fallen off over the years.

However, the most frustrating part of putting up the Christmas tree is all the "help" we receive from the youngest members of our family. We try to include them as much as possible, we give them jobs we figure they can handle and we try not to get too grumpy with them.

For example, Jimmy told Landon to take two branches to Sutton and to tell her they were green branches (the color of the tab). Thrilled at his new-found usefulness Landon marched off, branches held high with pride. When he reached Sutton at the tree he told her,"He ya go Susson. He's a bue twee and a puple twee." Not exactly the kind of help were needing, especially since our "twee" has neither blue nor purple tabs.

Jimmy tried to maintain a good attitude, Reagan stepped on an upturned branch that pierced her foot, Landon scratched his face, Hayden got plastic leaf parts in his eye, Keaton begged for more important assignments, and Sutton could be seen mentally counting down the number of days until graduation.

Every year it is this way. Every year I swear I will not decorate for the holidays and it will be okay. Yet, every year, once I force myself to put it all up, I look at the faces of my children and realize how important all the garland and twinkle lights really are. I put out the angels and the sleds and the life-size Santa and watch my home come alive once Christmas has exploded within.

Unfortunately, all we've gotten up is the tree, but it's a start. Landon and I will probably work to get the rest of it up ourselves while everyone else is in school. That way he can touch and inspect and discuss every item in our Christmas arsenal.

I have a feeling, though, that he will have to make a concession or two because the garage holds the Christmas boxes, we will have to go back and forth into the garage and the garage is cold. My little boot-wearing naked boy just might have to put some pants on.


1 comment:

Lisa said...

I feel your pain. Whitney is the worst about wanting to get everything out. Plus she and Reagan are a lot alike in the talking mode....Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. The Pustka's love y'all.