I peeked into my attic the other day, just far enough to find the Advent wreath.The rest of the Christmas decorations loomed nearby in the dusty shadows. I grabbed the wreath and slammed the door shut. I don’t know why, but I’m just not ready to decorate yet.
All of our neighbors have their lights up. I still have a pumpkin on the porch.
I guess part of me just wants life to slow down a bit.
So many of my friends have been talking about decorating, posting photos online, and telling stories about finding the perfect “live” tree. That always makes me ponder the term. A LIVE tree? But, I thought when you cut it down…
As you have probably guessed, I am in the artificial tree camp. It’s neatly tucked into a box in my dusty attic, waiting for me to bring it out into the light. The kids are already clamoring about getting it out. Maybe this weekend.
Or maybe I’ll just take my friend Joules’ advice. Slap a Santa hat on the pumpkin and call it good.
Pumpkins have become a tradition in my family. Just after we were married, my husband bought me a miniature pumpkin for Halloween. We set it up in our family room and it stayed there for months because I didn’t have the heart to throw it out. We were amazed how long it lasted. It’s become a silly game with us which we repeat every year. I always think it’s funny when someone asks, “Why is there a pumpkin on your mantle? It’s January!”
Our Christmas tree always has a few tiny pumpkin decorations on it, too. That first year of marriage, we had so little spending money that we blew our entire decorating budget on a small artificial tree. I had some little paper mache pumpkins in my craft supplies, so we stuck those on the tree for decorations. They still go on our tree every year, in memory.
So, how is YOUR decorating going? Are you one of those “I must have every decoration in place by Thanksgiving” types? Or are there still a few pumpkins hanging around your porch, too?
I think I will keep that pumpkin on the porch and maybe just add a few lights and wreaths. There’s nothing wrong with slowing down and remembering what’s come before. And in our household, the pumpkin has become a symbol of love–and that fits the season perfectly.