Military Christmas Decorating
By Sarah Smiley
This week we decorated for Christmas at our new home and
duty station in Bangor, Maine. For nearly a decade, we were stationed at
various places in Florida, where all sorts of decorations -- from fresh
pumpkins to cut Christmas trees -- can't be purchased too soon or else they
will rot. When we realized that we could cut down and bring home our Christmas
tree on November 30th here in Maine, we jumped at the chance. There's not much
better than the smell of fresh pine for 4 full weeks before Christmas. Oh sure,
early decorating also means I'll be sweeping up pine needles and broken
decorations for an extra week or two, but it's a small price to pay.
Our new house is exactly half the size or our old one in
Florida, and I thought this would present unforeseen logistical hurdles. What I
hadn't accounted for, however, was the fact that exactly half our holiday
decorations were either broken or lost in the move, so everything worked out
just fine. Sort of. After opening up boxes that the movers marked "Smiley
Attic," I discovered piles of crushed glass and angels that were missing
their arms. I quickly disposed of the gruesome site before the boys could see.....oh,
and also before they caught me tossing out a few of their handmade Christmas
goodies from years past at school. Sure, I keep the sentimental things -- a
water globe made from scratch, an ornament with Ford's picture, a jingle bell
painted by Owen -- but a mom can only keep so much memorabilia before her house
becomes a museum. I knew I'd never miss the 2,000 sheets of paper, all with
random scribbles on them, torn from the inside of a holiday coloring book, but
how would I explain it if the boys caught me stuffing their artwork in the
trash?
Before I called in the rest of the family to help with our
freshly cut Christmas tree, I decorated the house with the basics: a Santa
here, lights there, a garland or two. I'm not sure how I became my family's
designated light-hanger. In fact, as I strung lights on the tree, I wondered,
isn't this supposed to be the man's job? But "man's job" is
irrelevant to military wives
During my father's military absences over the years, my mom
was left to do many things traditionally thought of as "man's work."
My husband doesn't know how to set up our CD-player and stereo, despite those
tasks being typically "male," because he is never here when it is
time to set up the electronics.
And so it goes with Christmas lights, too.
We decorated our Christmas tree late Saturday night, and
after the customary, if unintended, breaking of two ornaments (one sentimental
and one expensive), we all stood back and admired our work. Each ornament brought
back memories of friends and stations past. We recalled Christmases in San
Diego, Virginia, and Florida, and I went to bed feeling all sentimental.
Our Christmas trees and decorations may change with each new
move, but the memories are always the same. We look forward to creating new
memories here in Maine, and bringing those with us, too. If the movers don't
break them, that is.