Today I finally got around to starting—NOT finishing—taking down our Christmas tree. This is what I found:
Lego clone warrior
Grandsons #1 and #2 had fun hiding their Lego Clone Wars fighters in our Christmas tree. The one above didn’t make it back to Georgia with the rest of the Legos. Luke and Nate, sorry if I didn’t get the names of the Lego characters right!
I always enjoy “undecorating” our tree. The ornaments are reminders of good times, fun places, loved ones, Christmases with our sons when they were little and now their wives and children. Removing an ornament is like picking fruit off a tree, only the fruit is a memory. Undecorating is a happy exercise, giving thanks for good memories, including those triggered by a left-behind Lego.
This is the first time I have heard someone take down the tree and not make it a sad occasion. A wonderful way to look at it! What a sweet momento to find!!
ReplyDeletethe reason i only put up a little tree and very few decorations is my dislike of taking it all down. it is like a job to me, love putting it up hate taking it down. I need to do an attitude adjusment and be lke you... thanks for sharing your joy
ReplyDeleteI wish I could make myself enjoy putting away the Christmas tree. I always do it alone, the tree always sheds bushels of needles all over the floor. I am sad about the dead tree and the ornaments never seem to fit in the boxes they came from. And I break some.
ReplyDeleteI came to your blog from Freda's, where I enjoyed your comment. I will be back again.
Re your post about your mother's recovery, I used to be amused at my father's response when people asked him how he was feeling. "Much improved! much improved!" was his invariable reply. He was a life-long optimist.
Reminds me of how Son #3 used to tuck a teddy in my bag when I had to go away on business. That teddy - "Snoozy" sits in my study now and I often smile at the way my son wanted to show he loved and missed me.
ReplyDeleteA big thank you for your thoughts to Ginny, Sandra 20th Century Woman and Freda! Just goes to show, Christmas trees touch something fundamental, huh?
ReplyDeleteSandra has it right: pick what you like best and eliminate the rest. Sandra, I love your "not-on-the-tree" reindeer, Santas and candles, but I don't have the inclination, space (especially space safe from little hands) or the tidiness gene that makes such beautiful Christmas decor pleasurable for me. So I get to enjoy yours without having to dust!
Welcome, Woman! I, like you, mourned the dead trees of Christmas. We have had two artificial trees through the years and live trees before and in between. Even our fake ones shed, but for now we have an artificial that may survive the grandkids "help" a couple more years. I got a big laugh out of your comment that the ornaments never fit back in the boxes they came from. Yep! Dealing with that now, too. I know we should be thankful in all things, but I will have to work on being thankful for that.
Freda, thanks for sharing about Snoozy, such a delightful, tangible reminder of the loving strings wrapped around your heart.
Thanks to all you day brighteners!
Next year, I will have some new ideas for tree decorations thanks to you. Next year..........
ReplyDeleteI'm inspired. Next year, I will have to try this type of decoration. Next year.
ReplyDeleteI love the thought of "picking memory fruit" from the tree. That's a great phrase. I have to admit that I was glad to finally get all the decorations down and packed away. Somehow this season wasn't quite as bright as others and it felt good to move on.
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