One day, if my husband and I live long enough, we’re not going to be able to put up a tree at Christmas. My sadness at that realization used to make me feel materialistic or overly secular. However, as my husband and I age, I view my Christmas ornaments the same way I view my photo albums. They are visual reminders of the people and places in our lives.
The past five years, I have warned that a particular day was coming and this year it arrived. My family purchased an artificial tree. I’ve taken to heart the principle of simplifying instead of giving up. (See here and here.)
The energy we spent on choosing, transporting, setting up, vacuuming fallen needles, adding lights, attempting to hang ornaments on uneven or weak branches and watering—as well as arguing about all the previous steps—is now devoted to hanging ornaments. More ornaments than we have hung in the past decade. My heart is happy as I reflect on the memories they represent.
Christmas is a box of ornaments that have become part of the family. Charles Schultz
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