This weekend after a very long day, I returned home to see a beautiful lit Christmas wreath adorning my house. The wreath was complimented by our festive Christmas lights, wise men, Mary and Joseph.
My husband, like many other smart minded people, took advantage of temps in the 60's this past weekend to get the outdoor decorating done. I know some of you overachievers had your lights up after Thanksgiving, but after getting the inside of our house decorated, our gas tank was on E.
This wreath I speak of has been a dream of mine since we moved into our home 14 years ago. Our roof comes to a point above our front door and the triangle shape, in my opinion, made the perfect spot for a wreath. Of course slapping a wreath up there would not be easy. There would be drilling involved, borrowing a ladder, heights to be climbed. No, this was not for the faint of heart.
In my loving, wifely way, each year I would say, out loud, this year I am going to put my wreath up there - like it would be so easy with a wave of my wand "Poof!" there it is. Truthfully, I was a waiting for my husband to risk life and limb to make this happen. Believe me when I tell you, with kids and work, some years it was a feat just to get the tree up. (I am sure many of you can relate.)
I was never truly disappointed when a Christmas would come and go without the touch of green that could make our house snap with holiday sizzle. But, I would whisper to myself, like a sinister Elf on the bad side of the North Pole, "Next year, will be my year and I will be envy of everyone in Christmas town."
This past weekend paved the way for my husband to 'get er done' since I would be out of the house for most of Sunday. He bought the wreath, bought a special drill bit to drill through mortar and then borrowed a ladder from our next door neighbor. I wish I could have watched the scene unfold as the magic started to happen. I am sure, while on the ladder, the words coming out of my husband's mouth were not very magical, but he would never admit that.
One of our other neighbors assured my husband that he didn't need to drill through the roof to make way for Santa. "That is what the chimney is for," he joked. Yes, my husband was able to spread holiday cheer and humor throughout our neighborhood, trying to make my Christmas dream come true. When he explained his story and what he was actually trying to do after 14 years the same neighbor responded sympathetically , "Sometimes it takes that long."
My husband told me to inform him when I would be driving up our street so we could do light up night. This was a tradition from my childhood when after a day of detangling lights, hanging up strands of bulbs, and replacing burned out bulbs my mother would take us kids across the street so my dad could flip the switch for the first time to reveal our holiday house.
Some years it would be red lights. Some years it was multi-color, although my dad's signature shade was blue. I remember our exaggerated 'oohhhs' and 'ahhhs' to make my dad feel good about a job well done.
The one year my dad was having some trouble getting the lights to come on after numerous attempts to flip the switch. He came outside to investigate the problem and that is when our neighbor's adult son classically asked, "Hey Ron, you need a match?" My siblings and I wanted to laugh, but we did not dare. We feared our dad would not be able to keep his frustration in check and may take a swing at the guy. But luckily, my dad offered only a slightly sarcastic reply and minutes later was able to set the house aglow with the cool flicker of soft blue illumination.
Light up night this past weekend offered the usual glow of red, green and white lights on our home along with the nativity scene, but it was only after pulling in the driveway did I notice the wreath near the roof. I was so surprised and excited. Because the windows of our van were down, in an attempt to give my older children a better view, I am sure my neighbors could hear my big mouth yelling, "My wreath, my wreath, I finally got my wreath!"
I am not sure why this became the year of the wreath. Was it the weather? Was it that the stars were aligned? Was it my nagging? We probably will never know the true answer to this one but really, who cares? The wreath is up and I can take in it's glow every night when I pull into our garage after a long day. I am kind of thankful that it took more than a decade for this dream to come true because I am sure after the first year, fifth year or even tenth year that I mentioned it, it would not have been appreciated nearly as much as it is now.
Snoopy creator Charles Schulz is quoted as saying, "Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.” It sure is nice to be that someone!
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