Will My Mums Bloom at Christmas?

This picture is from last year. I have posted it before, but I thought I would do it again, because the mums look exactly like this right now. I am getting ready to decorate for Christmas after Thanksgiving. The first year we were married, I was surprised to find out that Joe had a little tree in the basement...all decorated....under a plastic sheet...that he brought up every year on Thanksgiving night. My tradition was to decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving...and the ornaments were carefully placed on my tree when it was set up. His decorating was what a typical man would do...or so I thought, for he went on to bring up his bubble lights, in a lighted candle holder, his Santa that hung on the fireplace, his stockings, his little elves, and his other little trinkets. I was married to a man who loved Christmas and decorating... his way. My previous house was decorated from top to bottom. How would we ever blend? It has taken 9 years and now finally this year, we are more laid back about the holiday. As we have aged in years and our marriage too...we have found that this isn't the real meaning of Christmas. Sure we need some of the things of our past lives...after all we were both married 46 years to someone else. We need some things that are ours alone...and this year we realize that we have our own traditions as well. We are older and the decorating is much simpler. We are both feeling much the same way. We love to drive around our neighborhood and "peak" in the windows to see how our much younger neighbors are decorating. They do such elaborate outdoor decorations in our neighborhood. So pretty on a snowy night...the world is still for a moment while we drive through our little part of the world. We won't be decorating much on the outside this year. A wreath on the front of the house and some lighted stars in each window, and my sled on the porch is about all we will do. Joe will have his little tree and the one we share will be put up again. The tree in our breakfast nook will have my Mom and Dad's crystal ornaments once again. I'm using fresh greens and Amaryllis here and there...the manger scene (a gift from the Priest who brought me into the Catholic Church) will be in our living room. My snow babies will be in the kitchen and my village will be spread out between two rooms this year. No more hauling bins upstairs. Joe fell, while taking some ornaments down last year and this year I have been dealing with a sore back after starting to get the bins out. It's just not worth it. The outside will be pretty with the lighted wreath and the stars in the windows...who knows maybe these mums will still be blooming :)

Balisha