Tree feelings

I got dangerously close to meltdown stage on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  And I blame my self (partially) for not sitting down with Mark and telling him how I think we might do things differently with the holidays this year...starting with the annual jaunt to the tree farm.

I felt overtired, stressed, and OVER IT by the time we started bickering over stringing lights on the tree.  (I HATE that part most of all)  I also dislike slogging through crowds and mud and driving an hour both ways to pay an exorbitant amount for a tree, and pressuring our peeps to go along with a tradition they are no longer interested in.  For a gigantic a$$ tree that they won't see again until Christmas week.  So, we talked about it, and decided we will change it up next year.  And yes, I will remind him about it next November.  I mean, its pretty and all.  But its time to let that particular tradition either fade away, or do it differently, simple as that.

Which brings me to the "kid tree" which was always something we loved putting up each year with everyone getting a special ornament.  But do the math: 4 kids times 20 ornaments plus assorted ornaments they made me in school over the years = a couple of hours to decorate.  And again, none of them live here (unless you count Grayson who will be home for winter break).  So this year I chose to pull out a few special "kid" ornaments, fill in with red ornaments I wasn't using on the front room tree, and call it done about halfway decorated.  Its plenty.  And perhaps for this vintage tree, we were overloading it anyway.  And maybe we need to stop putting up two trees anyway...we'll have to decide that next Christmas, too.

So many feelings and changes and stress.  Over Christmas trees?  I feel like it shouldn't be that way.