Mick had his turn of looking after me, now it’s my turn to look after him. On Sunday night we went to carols at the beach. Despite the heat of the day and the fact it’s summer here in Australia, that evening turned quite cold and windy. Next thing, Mick’s come down with all the snuffles, aches and pains of flu symptoms.
He’s an easy patient to look after though. He’s spent the last few days on medicine and sleeping, sleeping, sleeping. I wish I could sleep like that when I’m sick, but I never can. Thankfully I’m now armed and so able to do the cooking and other household tasks, but it looks like putting up the Christmas lights and decorations as I’d thought initially might happen today, isn’t going to take place in the immediate future. I don’t ever get on ladders. Knowing me, I’d fall off and break my neck.
As I walked up to the shop yesterday to take the video we’d rented back, I admired the Christmas decorations on some houses and shuddered at others that are over the top and a mish mash of whatever people could find. Last week, while coming home from the movies we passed one particular house all lit up. Yes, it has a lot of lights but it was also beautifully done.
‘We should put a note in their letter box and compliment them on a tasteful display,’ Mick said, half joking.
We might still do that. You can see that we think alike about the subject of Christmas lights.
Currently the only sign in our house that Christmas is a week away is the Christmas cards displayed on the desk in the family room. We don’t have a tree because Mick and I prefer a real tree. Just as we both love carols we’re suckers for real Christmas trees. It may not be frugal but that’s the way it is. Nothing else smells the same.
We haven’t bought it yet. Hopefully by the weekend he’ll feel better and we can go and choose the one we want to buy.
Mick’s family never had a tree at all, real or otherwise. But when we married, we started our own tradition of a real tree. When we first married Mick was astounded at the time and care that went into choosing a tree. And it’s been that way ever since. Some years we’ve gone to a Christmas tree farm and picked one to be chopped one down. Other times we’ve bought one from the forestry department who had thousand of trees already chopped down, or from a charity or nursery.
Mick has the occasional grumble about getting the tree to stand straight and I sometimes whinge about the mess as it drops needles everywhere but I still couldn’t imagine it any other way.
Having a real tree is just one of our Christmas traditions and we’ll get one sometime between now and when our son and his wife and the grandchildren come down. Then it will smell like Christmas. I’d love to hear about your Christmas traditions.
Please visit these related blogs
How to Give a Special Gift to Your Spouse
Touring the Town for Christmas Lights