The Christmas tree has been standing NAKED in our family room since the day after Thanksgiving. I knew decorations were past due when family friend, JT commented about the sparseness of decor (BTW he is 8...yes I was chastised by an 8 year old)!
We remedied that last night. I was in charge of pulling the ornaments out of the tote and Rob wrangled the children off the step ladder. At one point I found myself telling Ben "you will not whine, you will enjoy this fun family tradition. AND you will remember it as being a magical and fun time when you grow up dang it!" (just so you know he wasn't convinced).
After that speech, I overheard Rob commiserating with Ben saying that he hated this part too (stemming from his childhood tree decorating memories). After that, Rob told the kids they could just put the ornaments anywhere, because as soon as "you go to bed, Mom will just rearrange them anyway". How rude! I am not that Obsessive Compulsive, am I?
*Sigh*
I hate when Rob is right about my flaws...no wait, my personality quirks. But he was...and I did. I rearranged a good amount of ornaments on the tree. I'm sorry, but it seem not only unsightly but also unsafe to have the majority of the ornaments on the bottom 1/3 of the tree. As one of the safety officers of my family, I feel it is my duty to protect others from the hazards that my haphazard ornament presentation presented.
I love Christmas, which is why I think I will consider my OCD to stand for Obsessive Christmas Disorder. Despite my crazy tendencies I hope my kids will look back at these times with fondness and love!
Ben shouldn't grow up with as much animosity for decorating Christmas trees as Rob...I don't make him do the lights! (that was a VERY touchy subject for the first 10 years of our marriage. Even still I have to bat my eyelashes and pert-near beg to get Rob to put up the outdoor Christmas lights. But this is another whole blog in and of itself-I'm not the only neurotic one in the family)By the time we finished with some indoor s'mores everyone was all smiles again. This might be a salvageable tradition yet!
I decorated the tree by myself this year, at least the upstairs tree. The kids ornaments are on the little trees downstairs. Brad and I shared the stringing up the lights duty. After my turn the smell of pine was making me nauseous. Brad feels the same way about stringing up lights. It doesn't bring out the best in either of us.
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