I Wonder...

I've never been big on decorating the whole house for Christmas, I have a full time job after all. And I now have additional caretaker duties too. But I do love to have a Christmas tree. And I always have a real tree, not an artificial one. Yes, to me it's worth the fuss and bother of cleaning pine needles out of the carpet. This year we managed to get the tree up and decorated about a week after Thanksgiving, which is almost a miracle considering that my mother is pretty demanding of my time. Thankfully, Saint Gene pulled his usual wonderfulness and went out and bought the tree and set it up one day while my mother and I were at the mall doing her Christmas shopping.

I loved going into the family room at night after everyone else was in bed, turning off the room lights and just sitting and enjoying the glow of the Christmas lights and ornaments, using that time to unwind and slow my mind. The soft scent of the evergreen, the twinkle of the little lights woven through the interior of the tree, the pride I feel in the beauty of the ornaments I make, all make for a good experience.

But now the tree is gone. And the room, which was somewhat crowded with the big tree, now looks so barren and empty.

I wonder why we decorate with such abandon only once a year?

I miss my Christmas tree.

Joy Journal: The wonderful cup of coffee I had while still in bed this morning.