Christmas nesting

Because I'm going back "home" and not coming back until mid-December, Dad let us decorate the house for Christmas so I could be part of it this time instead of missing out on the decorating.

And by "decorating." I mean Bro and I outside the house for two hours, arguing about which lights should be put in which order, then placing said lights on nails whilst precariously perched on a rickety stepladder, then calling Dad outside and putting on a balancing act on top of the stepladder to show him how unsafe it is. I love it!

And Dad is getting a stepladder for Christmas. We bought this one over ten years ago, and so far it's seen five different homes and crossed the Atlantic twice. It's spattered with at least five different colors of paint and primer, taped in a couple of places, bent, nailed together, and wired together. It's wobbly because one of the tip protectors for the legs fell off a long time ago and the entire frame is barely held together. I know my father loves it, but it's gotta go. It's a public health hazard.

Even though I'm going to miss out on decorating the tree, I'm still glad I got to put up the lights. We never did that when we lived in France, but that is the one American tradition the entire family has embraced fully. Even though it is not carefully planned or designed to look like a winter wonderland (like you can see on many houses), the color explosion that is typical of a fraternal collaboration and a series of compromises no doubt violating several laws of physics and the advised (read: fire-safe) connection of the lights brings our personal touch of holiday cheer to a house that usually looks very orderly and quiet.

Besides, I know what the Christmas tree will look like: every singe decoration we've ever acquired will be piled on the branches, from the paper garlands of my hand when I was three to delicate baubles that look so much like soap bubbles I am always afraid they will burst that Mom bought over twenty years ago, passing by metal animals, a garland of tiny bells, and oranges studded with cloves. It's messy and disorganized, and I think it's the most beautiful tree in the world.