Growing up, I always imagined of the elegant Christmas tree that would stand majestically in my living room. It would have matching ornaments and maybe red bows. The real and not artificial tree would create a lovely ambience, down to the wonderful pine smell that would enhance my sophisticated living room.
Fast forward to my life now. My family, all six of us, decorated our Christmas tree this week. Taking four children to pick out a Christmas tree is a tradition with us, but one that might be wearing on their nerves. They wanted the first tree that we held upright. Wonderful hubby and I made them look at four before we all agreed on one. We brought it home and decorated it that night. Before I married my wonderful hubby, I worried about how I would ever have enough decorations to fill a tree. Now we have two boxes full of decorations either made by one of the four children or purchased on our summer trips. To say our tree is eclectic is an understatement. There’s an ornament with Santa in a bathing suit (that got the biggest chuckle from Cupcake when she saw it) next to ornaments handed down from my husband’s great aunt. There are handprint pillows next to Scooby-Doo ornaments.
It’s a long way from the elegant tree I envisioned I would have. I think of George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life when he gets a chance to see what his life had been like if he’d never been born. Instead I think about my life if I’d never met my wonderful hubby. I’ll take the eclectic tree with the myriad of mismatched ornaments, each with a memory behind it, rather than the imagined elegant tree of my youth. He’s worth it.
How is your life different from how you envisioned it as a teenager? I hope that you’re like me and real life is a whole lot better.