I thought it would be fun putting up the outdoor lights this year. Um, no. At least I didn’t have to worry about getting frozen fingers like I used to get in NH. When my daughters were young we would all put up the lights together. There would be the typical grumbling about untangling the lights or where exactly to hang them. As the girls got older they got involved in other things and no longer wanted to help. I began to ask my best friend to come over to help because my husband then decided he no longer wanted anything to do with putting up lights. The last few years we lived in that house I put up the lights alone.

We left lights on the eaves of the house, along the roof line, last year. It didn’t make sense to take them down, plus I had my neighbor hang them for me as I am afraid of heights. So, I got out of the box of lights and attached a strand along the front porch entrance. Using a big orange extension cord I connected to the soffit outlet that is controlled by the indoor light switch. Then, I ran inside to flip the switch. I excitedly ran back outside only to find that one small portion of lights over the garage was lit. The rest of the lights were out.

Plan B

Plan B: I disconnected the strand across the porch. I took the end of the extension cord out to the lawn and plugged it into one of those yard stake lights that throw pretty designs against the side of the house. I had to go back outside after it got dark to make sure the aim of the lights was okay. It was actually perfect. So…I am letting go of my preconceived idea of how I thought I was going to decorate my house this year… white lights along the roof line, a small tree in a pot in front of one of the windows, colored lights around the front door. My lights were a fail. The small tree wouldn’t stand up in the pot I was using so I moved the tree to a corner of the front porch. I still need to put some fake pine sprays into containers on the porch and swap out my fall pillows for winter pillows on the chairs and rattan bench. It is a start.

Don’t let the unexpected make you unhappy during this holiday season. Sometimes things don’t end up the way we planned but that is okay. Try to enjoy the journey. I admit to being a bit cranky as things were not going as planned. I realized it just was not worth the energy of getting upset. It is not a contest. If I lived with someone who was as enthusiastic as I am about decorating then maybe the outcome would have been different. I have to live within the context of what I can do on my own when it comes to putting up Christmas decorations. I only need to please myself and I can do that:)