Hello There! I’m digging my way through the huge amount of stuff I’ve got to do, and yesterday we finally got to put up our Christmas tree. Later that evening I read a thought provoking post by Maria Killam over on her blog “Colour me Happy“. She talks about being a prosfessional decorator and her own Christmas tree, and wonders whether her Christmas tree is a reflection of herself. What got her thinking about it was this quote she heard at a seminar once:
The way you do Anything is the way you do Everything.
This post got me thinking about blogging and the meaning of life (because of course, they are interconnected!) I’ve been struggling a bit of late, because there are so many things I want to do, and I can’t seem to get them all done. I’m a visual artist, I’m very influenced by what I see, and I want to recreate my own visions, whether they’re art, neatly organized closets, decorated rooms or skilfully coded websites. Sometimes this constant influx of pretty pretty pretty can be too much – “how can these people do it ALL?” I wail!
Umm…I think they don’t…by themselves. It takes a village to do just about everything. I know this, and yet I forget it, time after time. So, after reading Maria’s tale of her less than perfect Christmas tree, I felt a bit better! Her post is filled with all these beautiful trees, so skillfully put together with coordinating ornaments, garland and lights. These are gorgeous – but they’re not MY family tree. As we were all decorating it yesterday, each of my boys had several comments about the memory of a particular ornament (not finding the Baby Jesus made from a peanut and toilet paper roll cause the little one 15 seconds of panic until it was unearthed!) 30 quickly taken pictures resulted in this half-way decent one, and I was not going to push it any further:
So, is my Christmas Tree ME? I’d like to think so:
- It’s large, so it can hold lots of memories
- It’s colorful
- It smells great (evoking more memories)
- It was a product of the people who mean the most to me
Is this tree a work of art? No. Is the picture stunning? No. Is it a product of me and my little family? Yes!
I know that some friends and family members scratch their heads and wonder why I do so much…and yet so many times when I compare myself to this blog-o-sphere I feel that I never do enough. My life never looks like THOSE pictures…if you know what I mean. (Ah, found another excellent take on this, here’s a post from the blog “A Commonplace Life” that talks about this subject more eloquently than I). I think I needed the reminder, once again, that we all have help, some more than others, and that some of those most excellent crafty bloggers are blogging as a full time job. So, thanks Maria, yes I think my tree is me!
Lest you think I’m not working on any decorations at all, here’s a peek:
7 Responses
Great thought provoking post. Thanks for sharing.
And I think your tree is beautiful. A well-loved family tree. Just like ours.
Hi!
I think your tree is great. I no longer put up a tree because all the chicks have flown the nest and live elsewhere, so no one to decorate for. Plus, I don’t get around w/o a walker (spinal stenosis and I HATE the walker – it just SCREAMS “old lady”). This all makes me very sad because I loved to decorate, especially with all of the ornaments the kids made over the years. I see what appears to be boy-made ornaments on your tree. They’re the very best kind.
I’d say that yes, my tree, or lack of one, is me-especially this year. I don’t know if I have mentioned it, but the only close grandbabies have moved a gazillion miles away to Tacoma, WA. Christmas seems very empty this year.
So, enjoy you’re very unique tree. I think it is perfect. I’m glad you’re back to the blog. I miss you when you’re gone.
Warm wishes!
Linda
OMG I love your tree, and your post is wonderful! Thank you so much for the mention 🙂
xoxo
Maria
I love your tree! I have a family tree, too, not a themed one, and the bottom third doesn’t even have any ornaments on it this year, because of the baby!
Thank you for writing this, and for posting those links, especially to the one about hating on Martha 🙂 I love Martha, but I too get overwhelmed by the amount of “perfect” everything I see on tv and especially on blogs, and as a result, I feel my own efforts are somewhat inadequate. So it’s refreshing to be reminded that real life is much more satisfying than perfection.
I love your tree! I’ve always been a fan of trees that represent the people who put them up. Trees with ornaments that each have a story are so much more beautiful and interesting than the ones that have matching, “in style”, designer ornaments that get replaced each year. I hope you enjoy your tree and the memories that come with each element of it : )
Your tree is beautiful! We have a big, fat tree every year. We can’t fit all our special ornaments on small ones. 🙂
Merry Christmas to you and your family! 🙂
~Kim