Christmas Season

Something has just taken over me these past couple of years. I used to dread Christmas and the embarrassment and shame of giving out invariably insufficient and mediocre gifts to those I care about. It used to be a truly dreadful season for me, but not last year and not this year. I just love Christmas now--I can now shop for gifts without feeling embarrassment over how inadequately they express my sentiments or fear over how they will be received. I just enjoy giving them now. The whole season is a pleasure, and I couldn't wait to put up my Christmas decorations this past Friday night. I spent the night before scrubbing the house down from top to bottom to make up for letting things go while I was working on my MBA and Nanowrimo, and then I moved around our living room furniture and starting stringing lights around our kitchen and living room windows. Scarlet watched the Grinch on the floor for a while, then spent the rest of the time helping me by pulling on the lights until the tape ripped off the glass and I had to repeat my work three or four times.

Then when Josh got off of work, we went Christmas tree shopping at Lowe's (I didn't even know they sold trees until a certain pregnant friend mentioned it on her blog) and then bought a couple of gifts at some nearby stores. Josh and I had donated our old fake tree over the summer because it was so shamefully tiny and we were excited to buy our first real tree together. I grew up on real trees and had been talking about their lovely fresh scent so much that Josh was disappointed when we first installed our new live tree. He said it smelled like pumpkins and he wasn't impressed. Within a day, however, he had changed his tune and now every time he walks into the living room, he mentions how good it smells. It may be a fire hazard, but it's a fragrant one.

We have a lot of plastic ornaments, so we made sure to put those at the bottom of the tree while decorating. We also barricaded the tree with one our kitchen chairs, so Scarlet can reach out and tug on a few needles or a low-hanging ornament but she can't pull the whole tree down. I spent the rest of the night decorating with Josh after Scarlet went to bed and then I put on some Christmas episodes of Psych and wrapped gifts while Josh shopped online for my presents.










The next night Scarlet and I ventured out into the cold night to watch Santa and Mrs. Claus light the Christmas tree on the snowy lawn of Murray City Hall. They arrived by fire truck, which was kind of cool. Josh had to stay home to study for his actuary exam but he wasn't very sorry he missed out because ten minutes into our waiting with fifty or so other parents and small children, the skies opened up to dump a ton of snow on us. It was beautiful but super cold, so Scarlet and I didn't wait in line with the rest of the kids for a photo with Santa in the council room.

Instead, we drove very slowly home, where I turned on the tree lights and took a picture of Scarlet and her first real Christmas tree. This season is so magical and I hope I can continue to love the weather, the festivities, and the meaning.