How putting up lights saved my Christmas spirit

The Grinch has had nothing on me over the last few weeks.

With Thanksgiving plans changing, shuffling our kids between their other homes and the general stress of life in the world right now, “Bah humbug” is about the nicest thing I’ve said about the holiday season. I’m ashamed to admit that I even threatened not to put up the Christmas tree this year — twice.

My husband and I have three elementary-aged kids between us, and the “mom guilt” eventually kicked in, making me realize that skipping the holidays this year probably wasn’t the best option, and I’d have to at least manufacture some holiday spirit. I ate some pumpkin pie, and that helped a little, but I couldn’t even bring myself to shop online on Black Friday.

Then it happened. As I watched our neighbors put up their holiday lights over the weekend, I started to feel just a twinkle of joy. Since we moved our blended family in together almost three years ago, we hadn’t put lights on our house. This was something neither my husband nor I had ever done, and we felt like our assortment of lit yard animals was plenty. However, as I watched my neighbor climb on his roof, I felt like lighting our house was something I had to do right away.

I soon found myself asking our neighbors for tips on how to put up lights, and borrowing not only a ladder, but accepting some spare lights they generously offered. Within a few hours, I shimmied up our roof and, while balancing on the shingles, finally started to feel genuine Christmas spirit. My husband held the ladder, while my stepdaughters excitedly watched on and assisted with the lights on the small tree in our yard.

Maybe it was the adrenaline of being up on the roof, or maybe it was a Christmas miracle, but that experience was just what I needed to break out of my funk. This Grinch’s heart grew three sizes that day.

Later that evening, the girls and I gathered around the computer and finished our Christmas shopping. The next day, when my son came home from the weekend, we started decorating the house and the tree. I’ve even stopped changing the radio station when Christmas music comes on.

Just this seemingly small act of putting up the lights was something of an exhale for me. While up on our roof, I was able to take in the excitement of the season that comes just once a year, and remember how special it truly is.

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