There’s a semblance of Christmas at our place Saturday as my partner goaded on me to put together the tree.
“You’ll feel better, you love decorating,” he said, as if such penchant for something can replace the void I’m feeling lately.
Decorating for the season this year is such an impractical thing if we’re going to be in Manitoba most of Christmas time anyway, I insisted. It’d be a pain to take down the decorations later.
Taking down the decorations is always a pain regardless of the situation, he said.
But you do it anyway because it makes you happy, it’s not just for others to see, it’s also for us, he said.
I agreed with him.
So on we decorated the place.
We took out some of the Christmas ornaments we’ve accumulated over the years.
Some of the Christmas decor are about eight years old, others are fairly new. We really don’t have a lot, they’re mostly for the tree.
We don’t have a wreath to hang in our front door, just like our neighbours.
We don’t have a lot that will make a display of Christmas frou-frou and I’m not keen on spending money on something that comes out once a year.
But I’m the kind of guy who swings both extremes, from nothingness to everythingness.
When my partner convinced me we have to have some reminder it’s Christmas, I decided I wanted every room in the condo must have something.
Nope. We didn’t splurge on decorations.
We picked up some craft materials, I made a Christmas wreath and the rest of the decor, poinsettias.
It’s still difficult to get into the mood of the season. Or maybe this is the mood for me this year.
However, it’s good to be reminded of the blessing and gift of friendships we’ve made over the years.
Seriously, folks your comforting words mean a lot to both of us.
Dec. 11, 2010
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