Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Our Christmas tree is still up.
Neither one of us is in any great hurry to take it apart and put it in the duct-taped box. Clearly, since it’s February.
In the wee hours each morning, I open the curtains and plug in the tree. I putter around the living room, caffeinating myself, in the glow of multi-colored lights. I find them as peaceful as they are beautiful.
When I was a kid, it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r for Christmas to get here. Or longer.
Now, I blink and Valentine’s stuff is on the store shelves, this year before Dec. 25. The season hit so quickly that I ended up with only two ornaments on the tree. Two.
I felt engulfed by busyness, whether self-imposed or just part of the daily grind. It was always there. If I wasn’t fighting dragons, I was trying to not be eaten by one. By the time I’d get home, there wasn’t any surplus energy to unbox ornaments and decorate.
I spent a lot of time “floofing” the tree. After being in a box for a year, it takes a bit of time to get the branches settled. So, I’d floof and rearrange the branches, and let them sit. Then I’d floof some more, and then a little bit more. Before I realized it, Christmas was a couple of days away, and still only two ornaments graced the tree.
At some point, I realized this year wasn’t about the ornaments so much as it was about the lights. There was something soothing about walking in the front door and plugging in the tree, and then watching the colors blanket the room. It made my spirit happy. And so did slowing down enough to enjoy the ritual of just sitting, and being, to start and end each day.
Maybe that’s why the Christmas, er February, tree is still up. It’s a glorious reminder to slow down, and just enjoy the moment. I can’t help but smile when I’m outside working on projects, and I see the lights in the window.
Sooner rather than later, we’ll box the old tree up. But for now, we’re just enjoying the moment.
Patti Dobson writes about faith for The Eastern New Mexico News and Quay County Sun. Contact her at: