Is our Christmas tree up? Yes. Yes, it is. Was it decorated on Veterans Day? Yes. Yes, it was. Did we break our own rule of no Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving? Yes. Yes, we did! But we can explain! It has been an uncertain year for us, to say the least. If my family learned anything from Asa’s emergency eye surgery in February, and subsequent ER visits, it is don’t postpone joy! We don’t know what the future will bring, so why delay happiness? This year also taught us the importance of family, especially life lessons that were taught many years ago, but may have been neglected over time.
It all began a bazillion dog years ago, in fact it was BG – Before Goldens – when Mom was a little girl. On that Veterans Day Mom and our Uncle were being babysat by Great Nana. Great Nana happened to look out and saw that the neighbors across the street were decorating their Christmas tree in their front window. Those twinkling lights sparked an idea! We should put up the Christmas tree! After all, no one loved Christmas more than Great Nana. I’ve been told her enthusiasm for the Holidays may have even been more than Asa’s, believe it or not!
There was one problem though. The Christmas tree was stored in the basement, and Nana and two small children were not strong enough to move all the boxes around it and then get it up the stairs. That’s when our Uncle had a flash of brilliance. No one said Christmas decorations had to go on a tree! Why not decorate his bike which was in his bedroom! Alright, neither Mom nor our Uncle can explain to me why the bike was in his bedroom. So let’s not dwell on that detail and move on with our story.
Down to the basement they went to gather decorations. Up to his bedroom they joyously gathered and decorated his bike with garland and homemade decorations. And home came Grandpa and Grandma from the Veterans Day event, to the surprise that Christmas had began early that year. Oh how our Grandma laughs when reminded of that day.
The tradition of decorating for Christmas on Veterans Day continued for many years in Mom’s childhood home. They even added a small tree to Mom’s bedroom the following year. And yes, the decorated bike became a yearly tradition too. However, as Mom and our Uncle got older, Great Nana didn’t need to babysit them anymore, and the tradition eventually fell out of favor. But not this year! This year the first of many trees went up on Veterans Day! Will we wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate the rest of the house? Probably. But to see Asa and Mom’s joy as they decorated the tree in our living room, while listening to her tell stories of Christmases long, long ago, was absolutely what our family needed. Oh and the tradition of the surprise continued, because Dad was away this past weekend, and certainly did not expect to find a Christmas tree in the living room when he returned!
Whether it is Christmas decorations or some other joy that you’ve been putting off, just go do it! Life is too uncertain to postpone joy.
