Decking The Halls

As a child, and now as an adult, my favorite part about Christmas wasn't the presents. (Not that I didn't love them. I wasn't some magical unicorn child who only wished for peace on Earth or anything.) For me, the true magic of the season was how a space could transform with proper decorations. The gifts and food and all that was one small part of the magic of the season, which always seemed to start when my grandmother put up her first tree. 

Now, while I have to appreciate my grandmother's beautiful decorations from afar due to living on the other side of the country, decorating my own house makes me feel calm. It makes my cookie cutter military housing that I can't paint or renovate the way I want to feel like home more than any other time of the year. It takes my anxiety and depression, which can actually get worse for people during "the most wonderful time of the year", and pushes it away for awhile, temporarily defeating the beast that is Anxiety with a festive glow and the sounds of "Carol of the Bells". 

I love it. I love everything about it. I love making it just as magical for my children as Grandmama made it for me. (At least I try.) I love laying with them under the trees, staring up into the twinkling branches at the ornaments and decorations. It's like being part of a mystical fairy world that only we have the key to. 

Last I heard, Grandmama was now decking her halls with just around 14 trees a year, which is something I can only dream of. However, we have a full sized tree in each bedroom, (Bash's is only about 3' tall, but that's what he wanted specifically) and one that will go downstairs right after Thanksgiving. (We do a real tree in the living room, so we can't put it up too early or it could be brown by Christmas.) And I plan on soaking in every single moment of it. Too soon it will be January, where it is cold, and dark, and damp without the benefits of lights, music, and the holidays to look forward to. For now it is November, and the promise of what lies ahead is driving me like an unnatural force. I'm going to let it.