I arrived home from Asia and I couldn't bring myself to decorate. But, my mom came to visit this weekend, and saved the day (the holiday, that is). She has always been my inspiration when it comes to creating atmosphere and making people feel at ease. My mom calls it a knack for life but it's more like a knack for knowing what makes people feel good and she strives for that in everything she does.
My mom keeps an impeccable home that allows anyone who enters to immediately become comfortable and breathe a little easier. Holidays at their cozy place are particularly special and I've always tried to replicate that here for my own family. But, not this year. I just couldn't get in the mood. My boys had the tree out when I came home but it just sat there naked for a week.
Then, my mom and her hub came to visit for our postponed Thanksgiving, and she insisted on helping to get Christmas off the ground this season. In all of my adult life, my mom has never helped me to decorate for the holidays. Setting up her own winter wonderland at home is quite enough plus we like to compete a bit even though it's never really a contest as I always happily come in at a distant second.
I usually insist on doing this Christmas decorating ritual alone, just like her. It's a meditative place we share, much like gardening, although she is light years ahead of me there too. She trims all of her shrubs into little bonzai trees. I haven't the patience for that, but my living wall of succulents, sea glass and beach shells ain't half bad.
Despite all of my good intentions and an encouraging nudge from my husband in the shape of a menacing box labeled xmas decorations left in the walkway, the tree stayed bare until mom arrived. And even though she spent over a week on her own house before traveling to mine, she dug into that box and said I will get the tree while you focus on the rest. She knew I just didn't have it in me this year. It only took a few hours then we were pouring a mimosa to celebrate.
God bless us, everyone.
