Christmas Ambiance

When I was a child, Christmas meant presents. As a parent, it meant lots of shopping and wrapping. Now, I spend far more time listening to seasonal music and enjoying the lights and decorations.

Life has become simpler as I've aged.  I have far fewer responsibilities than I did forty years ago and my daughter now assumes many of the daily household tasks and most of the holiday ones as well.  As a family, however, we have truly simplified our lives.  In the last four years, we have reduced our dwelling size by sixty percent.  You can’t make that kind of change without reducing your possessions as well. Difficult at first, it soon becomes liberating and then almost addictive.

For our last move, we agreed that we wouldn't move anything that wasn't in good condition.  That meant that our old living room furniture didn't make the trip.    After the move, we rolled our office chairs into the living room, whenever we wanted to watch television.   It took almost five months to find a great deal on new recliners, but they look great, feel comfortable and fit into our space far better than the old stuff.  We took a hard line with Christmas decorations as well.  Who needs to store tattered garland or defunct tree lights? 

If I miss anything, it’s some of our outdoor decorations.    They were purchased for a larger home with a larger lot.  Light nets that worked well with the shrubs at our former home, would just weigh down the far smaller bushes at the front of our new home.  While smaller ones are available, we are reluctant to purchase any, since we will only be here for a couple of years.    We started looking at outdoor lighting that could be used for a variety of events and my granddaughter found some gorgeous solar lanterns that resemble the globular Chinese lanterns.  Since we don’t have to depend on the proximity of electrical outlets, they can be placed anywhere.  A couple of the brilliant red or green ones would look lovely on our front door for the holidays, but could also be hung from our back deck or trees to light summer parties.    My granddaughter is delighted that we will adopt her idea and we are happy to find simpler multipurpose lighting that will brighten any season.