As soon as the lights were on and working, I turned to the boxes of ornaments all packed up nice and neatly from last year. I looked at them, contemplating.
And then I got this overwhelming feeling of I don't want to hang ornaments.
In the past, it was one of my favorite parts of decorating. I loved coming across the different pieces that were merged from our pasts, or new to our marriage. We bought special ornaments that represented our first year of marriage and our first baby. I always bought a few new ornaments each year that reminded me of the year behind us.
But this year, I am seeing Christmas through a busy toddler's eyes. And I want to focus on that spark.
Maybe it's just this busy season of life we are in, but the thought of hanging ornaments, keeping a toddler's curious hands off of those said ornaments for the next two weeks, and then taking down all of the ornaments sounded like way too much.
Liam justified my decision when he came downstairs, put his hands straight on the tree, and then found two of his cars to ride up and down its branches.
I wasn't about to spend my every morning and evening saying no, no, no, no, no.
So in an effort to say "Don't touch!" less often and in an effort to give myself the gift of grace, we are enjoying an ornamentless Christmas tree this year.
I hope you find a way to give yourself grace, too.
I like it. I have a 6ft tall, solid black-needled, pre-lit tree. The Christmas I worked offshore for three weeks, I set it up super early so I could enjoy it for a few days, went offshore through Christmas and the new year, then was too busy/tired to take it all down when I got home each night, so I just removed the ornaments, then I went offshore for another month.. before I knew it, it was almost summer and my bare, black, pre-lit tree was still in my living room. And then I realized I actually really liked it as part of the black, white, and brown decor I had going on, so I left it like that for a full year.
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