I decorated my Christmas tree today. Don’t mind me, it’s only December 27th – two days after Christmas. And here I am putting it up like it’s December 1st. I went to Walmart today. I didn’t feel like going the day after Christmas. But they still have Christmas decor at 50% off. In all, I got 94 ornaments. I didn’t want to wait until next year to see what the tree would look like, so I decorated it today… just for the next four days only.
A couple of years ago, I gave away the ornaments I’d bought for the tree to a friend’s daughter who loved the color: purple. I haven’t put up the big tree since because I never purchased new ornaments. To be honest, it had been a couple of years before giving the ornaments away that I’d even decorated the tree. I didn’t know what color I wanted to use next. I purchased the purple ornaments the year my mom passed. They always reminded me of her when I would decorate the tree.
Letting go of the purple ornaments was a way for me to release the past and also allowed someone else to create new memories around the ornaments. I texted the picture – and video I created of the tree to some friends and I got plenty of WOW’s and a few laughs: I think they thought I was joking. I mean, who decorates a Christmas tree after Christmas? ME!
The friend that took the swim lessons with me said that she thinks I swallowed too much chlorine and that it was affecting my thinking… she was joking. But overall, everyone said that the tree was beautiful – my sentiment exactly. One friend said that being able to decorate my tree after Christmas was “a perk of being grown and in your own house”. I agree with that, however, me decorating my tree now – especially when I had everything I needed in order to decorate it, means that I’m no longer waiting for “this” or “that” to have happened. I plan to enjoy This Journey right now.
Stop letting old traditions keep you from making new memories.
Tracy
My Journey, My Story 