For the last two weeks, the house has been a chaotic mess of various piles of Christmas ornaments, garlands and wreaths. Over the years, I have accumulated tons of holiday decorations, the problem being that many of them are worn out from years of use or broken from the many times I have moved. I have also given many decorations away in years past, and I have to remind myself of that every year when I go in search of the lost decor.

This year, I am taking my sweet time decorating for the holiday. I am going through every box, and every bulb, throwing out the things that should have been tossed in the waste basket years ago. Only a handful of decorations I own were purchased new. Most were hand-me-downs from friends or family, thrift store finds and some were even pulled from a dumpster and cleaned up by yours truly.

I have always tried my best to make the season magical for my boys. Some years were harder than others, but somehow we managed. Until I met George, we had never had a new Christmas tree. In fact, our first Christmas in Nelson, we had a spruce twig for a tree. We didn’t have room for a tree then, and I had never had a real tree, so our little twig covered all the bases. LOL. The next year we purchased a three-foot tree, brand new, which was a milestone for me. I still find it funny that we base our success in life on whether or not we can purchase something new. Don’t shake your head; you know you’ve done it too! LOL.

I finished decorating the tree last night. I got a little carried away this year, and it’s a bit fancier looking than in the past. I added some ribbons, used red and gold ornaments over the white lights and used just enough tinsel for that pretty sparkle. I might leave it set up until spring, as it brightens the house and my spirits.

I hope to have the house holiday ready by the end of the week, but at the pace I have been moving, I will finish just in time to receive company on the 23rd. Robert and Jacob both managed to get leave for the holidays, I have been lucky thus far to have them both home at Christmas time. Although that luck may be running out since Robert’s new duty station is on the east coast, and who knows where Jacob will be sent off to.

Jackson and Nicholas will spend the New Year here with us; unfortunately, that time is also running short. Jackson will graduate this school year, and who knows how he will choose to spend his holidays once he is on his own. So we will do our best to enjoy the time we have with them. If there is one thing I have learned in life, it’s we should never take anything for granted. In the blink of an eye, it can all be gone. X’s & O’s.