Weekend

This was the weekend of decking the halls.

Friday was a lovely day.  I did 5 loads of laundry and puttered around the house, taking down autumnal decorations and readying the house for Christmas decorations.  I wrapped a few gifts and paid bills and watered the plants and just caught up on things.  I told Adam that I think I'm going to take a personal day every first part of December because it was so nice to be home to do stuff.

I got a very nice email from my sub, reporting on things and I can tell she was great, which makes me feel happy.

Adam and Emma brought home pizza and we started decorating.  Mostly Emma and I did, actually.  Adam's role is usually just carrying stuff.

I felt lonely for Mark because I've been decorating with him for years.  He gets up on the ladder and is extremely patient as I say, "no, over more," and "no, now that's too far."  He arranges things on the top shelf and then ducks down so I can see it.  We are a good team.

I texted him that if he'd come over Saturday and help, we'd get Thai food.  (You just have to know people's currency.). He agreed.  So we left the high stuff.

Saturday, Adam and I went to my classroom.  (He carried stuff and then sat down and worked on church appointments and the like.) I sorted through some of the papers left in my box in the work room and left the completely full turn in basket alone.  I will deal with that later.  I again took down all the fall decorations and changed the calendar and the job chart and the daily schedule.  Emma brought sandwiches and helped decorate.  She set up the Christmas village while I decorated the tree and set up my little elf door.  Soon enough it was looking festive.  I am excited for my students to see it.

Sometimes I think all the setting up and decorating is a lot of work and I wonder if it is worth it, but then it always is.  I enjoy the process of decorating and I enjoy the end product.  Joy in a joyful season.

Mark came over and hefted the heavy ladder and climbed up and down it like a 20 year old and brought the small tree in from the garage and helped Adam set up the large tree in the family room.

Emma and I decorated the small tree and Mark said that his life is a lot better since I stopped having him help with that tree.  I am picky about red distribution on the red and straw ornaments tree and he can't see red against green very easily with his color blindness, so he is excused.

It's better for everyone.

My grandma wanted me to inherit all the Christmas decorations I ever gave her.  One year I didn't give her Christmas decorations and she told me that she was disappointed so guess who gave her Christmas decorations every year?

I also got this plastic Santa that had been her mother's, Great Grandma Wood.

My grandma was nothing if not exacting in her decorating.  It was either lovely or out of there.  She made exceptions for sentimental things.  This Santa, taped together and with a tiny burn mark where the light inside touched the plastic, always had pride of place.

I hung it by Grandma's clock. I'm not going to tempt fate by putting a light inside. 

One of the decorations my grandma loved the most that I gave her was some snowmen roasting marshmallows.  She exclaimed over it every time we got it out to decorate.  It is in a cardboard box and when I opened it, the smell of my grandma's house was overpowering.  I quickly closed it back up.  I'm going to save that smell for as long as I can.

I opened the box for Adam, Emma and Mark, then closed it again.  They all smiled in recognition.

It's a magic box.

We decorated the tree.  After a while, Mark said, "Some people would think this is decorated."

We forged on.

After a while longer, Emma and I were the only ones still decorating.  I asked her, "What would I do without you?"

She said, "Finish decorating alone."

True.

This is also true:

I love the temple in the distance and the star in our front window reflected in the back window.

A close up of the cacophany that is our tree.  No one will accuse of us sleek and minimal.