I always used to look forward to Christmas. The twinkling lights and ornaments on the Christmas Tree, with presents underneath. Catching up with friends and relatives, who’s lives have taken them too far away for any more than this once a year gathering . And of course, there’s the food.
When I was younger, I looked forward to setting up and decorating the tree, and decorating the house. As I got older though, it began to get tiresome; the same ornaments, the same lights in the same places, it seemed as though nothing ever changed. Traditional, yes, but in my eyes it was growing tiresome.
THEN, I met the wonderful woman who would become my wife.
My old Christmas tree had 3 strands of lights and several boxes of ornaments, not quite minimalist, but definitely understated. The lights did provide a (very) subtle glow.
When we bought our first tree as a married couple, Cathy insisted that every section of every branch be covered with lights. The tree needed to glow. Three days later (that’s right 3 days of stringing lights on a tree), and multiple trips back to the store to buy more lights I was finally done. With almost 3,000 lights, you could probably see the glow of that tree from space. In addition to the lights, every available branch was covered with ornaments, our ornaments.
I say that not just because we bought them, but because many of the ornaments represent specific moments of our life together, from the places we’ve been such as the National Parks (The Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Acadia, Yellowstone, Yosemite), Walt Disney World, Las Vegas, the Canadian Rockies, and day-trips to Lancaster Pennsylvania and Upstate NY. They’re more than just shiny glass in a box, they’re our memories.
Christmas, today, for me, has become a year-long event. Everywhere day, every trip, every family vacation is another opportunity to not only make memories, but to capture and relive them through a Christmas Ornament. Most of our relatives think it’s ‘cute’ that we have so many ‘Grinch’ on our tree, but none realize that on our first date, the Christmas classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was one of the first things that we both agreed was our absolute favorite (and then proceeded to see who could recite more lines - she won).
Now, when Christmas comes around and it’s time to start setting up the tree, the New England Village and decorate the house, I’ll complain that it’s so much work, and we have so much stuff (half of our attic is filled with Christmas decorations), and it’s too windy to put up the house lights, but I enjoy every minute of it. And the best part is that every Christmas, the tree is just a little bit different. And now, we even have two trees. The family tree (with the ~3000 lights), and a smaller one for the kids. Decorated by them with the ornaments they’ve picked out. As time goes by, more of the ‘filler’ ornamentswill be replaced by their personal memories, that they’ll take with them when they get older and start families of their own.
Today, I enjoy Christmas more than ever.
Maybe it’s a part of growing up or having kids of my own, but now I get more joy from seeing our twins’ smile and from kissing my wife ‘Merry Christmas’ than any present could ever bring.
Also, it’s not just the day, but all the preparation, the decorating and especially the times when we find a new ornament - another memory. Many of the friends have changed, the family is bigger, and there’s more food then twice as many people could ever eat, but I still love it. Especially because I know that next year our Christmas tree will be a little different - a little better.
So that’s why I decided to start this blog. To share my love of all things related to Christmas.
A little more about me:
I’m Mark, and my family and I live on Long Island, just East of New York City. Being the father of twins means that there is truly never a dull moment. On the rare weekend when I’m not coaching baseball or soccer, or driving the kids to a birthday party, play-date, or the pool in the summer we love going to Manhattan and also the farm stands out East. It sometimes feels as though when I’m at my day job (engineer) is the only time I get to relax. But when the day is done, a simple hug and an “I had fun today Daddy” puts a smile on my face.
So read, enjoy, and share your stories.
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