Uncategorized

Just hang the damn ornaments.

Those who know me well enough are WELL aware of my disgust for those around us who start playing Christmas music on November 1st. There are so many other events in November we have to get out of the way first – All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving… alas, the consumer greed kicks in no matter what I say. Add in the fact that so many of you throw the stuff out a day or two after Christmas (when we should be celebrating THROUGH January 6th, but I digress), and you can pick up what I’m putting down.

This past weekend, I found myself faced with a small conundrum. With a rare day off, there was an opportunity to be quite productive in the new home since we have been living out of boxes for the last few weeks. However, my lovely red-headed daughters had very different plans – as they were determined to set out our Christmas decorations to compliment the neighbors who had already done so.

Naturally, the idea seemed rather offensive to me at the surface level. How could my own offspring suggest such an atrocious idea? *Dad mode kicks in* Because they see sparkles, glitter, and all the pretty lights, you dumb dumb. Just because logic and reason works in your favor at the age of 36 doesn’t mean an intelligent 3 year old will grasp the concept of patience being a virtue in this instance (let alone my bride, who quickly sided with her daughter in hopes this meant trips to Hobby Lobby and other specialty stores for even more decorations).

As parents, we learn quickly to pick our battles wisely. While I could certainly stand my ground (as I began to) on principles I have held near and dear… those principles were also being applied in very different phases of life. Who says you can’t assemble that deck box in the garage while the girls unwrap ornaments? Who says you can’t go hunting through a dozen tubs for the constantly missing TV remote while they find the perfect place to position the wooden reindeer in the living room?

I guess what I’m trying to get at here is this – the lesson I learned this weekend is to not let the list of action items you have get in the way of making precious memories with your little ones. Of course, the list of things I need to tackle is never-ending… but they won’t be this little for very long, and I will treasure the looks on their faces when they saw the finished product of a decorated tree for the rest of my life.

Uncategorized

The significance of a tree.

  • December 12, 2021December 12, 2021
  • by Ben Torres

I honestly have not had a Christmas tree in my place of residence for several years… in fact, other than a “Charlie Brown” equivalent for a couple occasions, it has been nearly 15 years since having a legit-sized tree to put up and decorate. Granted, I have been on the move – packing up a moving truck every year since 2014 and going to another neighborhood (if not another state altogether). At the core, the places I have called “home” have merely been stops along the way – with a handful of nice memories to take away from each. There can be all the excuses for being a Grinch and not celebrating by way of decor as everyone else does, and I likely cited all of them in the past.

This may seem trivial to some, but having gone through the process for the first time in what feels like forever… bear with me. Black Friday certainly does not have the significance it once did in getting up at the crack of dawn to feed my consumer greed – instead, we bundled up our newborn and headed to Home Depot to get a tree and decorations for the yard. While I may have grimaced at first when the wife suggested such an idea (cue memories of having to untangle lights in knots that no Boy Scout is capable of undoing), I found that it brought me immense comfort and joy to bond together over decorating and preparing our home for our Savior’s birth. Furthermore, it cemented the fact that life now consists of having made a home with my new little family – and while it might look like the simple gesture that most do to “play their part” when the holiday rolls around… this one simply feels different.

I’m sure part of this has to do with the fact that I now get to watch my newborn child’s eyes LIGHT up when seeing the colors sparkle as they bounce off the various ornaments we scrapped together. Another part is seeing the joy it brings my wife to prepare our home for the occasion, and the tangible realization that we are indeed growing as individuals and together with every challenge and opportunity that comes our way. There are so many negative things happening in the world that could affect our mindset in this season – sometimes it really is the simple, small things like plugging in the lights Clark Griswold-style and stepping back to enjoy the view with the ones you love.

No matter what life throws at you this month, I hope that in the midst of the world’s current level of noise and chaos that some of you can manage to find a similar feeling this Advent season.