First Baptist Church of Herndon

Keeping it simple

Linda Soller | Nov 26, 2012

I assume if you are reading this blog that you survived “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday.” Hopefully you remember some of your Thanksgiving Day as you sit and try to recover from the frenzy that was your weekend. If you are like me and do not subscribe to the concept of losing sleep to get a bargain then you should be in relatively good condition. Most of us are back to work either way. There is something to be said for getting back in to your routine. It can be calming and familiar. Even the not so pleasant parts of your routine are somehow reassuring because you can always count on them to be, well, not so pleasant.

Now that Thanksgiving is over for another year I begin the process of decorating for the Christmas holiday. There is a lot of stuff to put out and hang up. I always start out fondly remembering when I got this item or where this decoration came from. After a couple of hours I really don’t care I am focused on getting it out and being done with it. It is not that I don’t like to have the house decorated for the holiday season, but it does seem to fill the rooms to the point of closing the walls around you. If you have a big grand ballroom style house it can be called cozy, in my house it is nearly claustrophobic.

I sometimes wonder what our ancestors would think to see what the holidays have become. I can almost see them shaking their heads in dismay. Certainly each generation saw their efforts at the holidays as extravagant but we have taken it to a whole new level. When I consider my own actions I wonder why I feel the need to fill all the spaces in the rooms. The first Christmas was decorated with love and amazement. There were no shiny objects on the walls of the stable, no crunchy ribbons on big packages, and no dancing reindeer. Maybe I will try something new this year, more organic, more meaningful, and less cluttered. Maybe this year I will keep it simple, how about you? Have a great week :o) Linda