I ordered a new artificial Christmas tree that was delivered earlier in the week. I’ve stared at the box all week debating on whether or not it was too early to put it up. It’s not Thanksgiving yet and honestly I wasn’t sure if I was really in the Christmas spirit this year.
On Saturday, I went on a search for new ornaments for the tree. Walking through the store, I looked at the glass specialty ornaments similar to the ones the boys and I used to collect. I thought about how I would always have to beg them to help me put the tree up and then we would end up laughing about all the Christmases past. It made me ache for the boys to be little again.
I went through the aisles in search of new colors to help represent a new tradition. As much as I was tempted to decorate the tree in bright pinks, greens, and blues, I decided to stick with the more traditional holiday colors. I remembered watching a video about painting clear ornaments to resemble jadeite and thought the color would be pretty with the white, red, and black ornaments I’d picked out. I bought the supplies to try my hand at painting the ornaments. I stopped at every Dollar General between Hobby Lobby and home to find extra little ornaments for the tree. The trips yielded several great finds and a pair of elf legs. Yes, elf legs. The tree’s main theme was farmhouse country but the elf legs really had to be incorporated.
When I got home, I thought perhaps I would tuck the ornaments away until after Thanksgiving. The longer I thought about the tree and the pretty lights, the more I wanted to put it up. I opened the box with the tree and started putting it together. It was different putting up a tree without the boys. Bradley was at work and Grady was on a camping trip. I strung the lights, placed the ornaments, and stood back to admire my work. The only thing missing was the pretty green ornaments that I still needed to paint. I pulled out the supplies and painted the clear plastic, not expecting it to look like it did in the video but hoping for the best. I was pleasantly surprised, however. The paint dried in a pretty matte finish that really did resemble old, jadeite glassware. When I placed them on the tree, the colors made everything pop.
Although it was all new, it felt like an old tradition with old ornaments. Perhaps it wasn’t really about the ornaments so much as it was the act of putting the tree together. Despite the fact that I was putting the Christmas tree up well before most people, it all felt like the right timing. Is there really a “right” time to put up a Christmas tree? I guess the right time is when it feels right and Saturday, it was right for me.
If you get enjoyment from putting the tree up a little early, do it. Sometimes we stop ourselves from doing what we most want to do because of our fear of what others will say about it. But if we really want to live life to the fullest, we have to recognize that we only get so many opportunities to do that before the clock runs out. There is no guarantee that the sun will rise tomorrow and if I waited to put the tree up, I might not have been able to enjoy the soft glow of the lights as they reflected off the shiny ornaments. With every twinkle of a light, it reminded me of all the sweet memories of Christmases past. And with picking out each new ornament and every stroke of the paintbrush, it gave me hope of sweet memories for the Christmas of the present and those of the future.
Messpot Diaries 