Look, I know there are a lot of people who freak out about decorating for Christmas before it's even Thanksgiving. But sometimes you have to take advantage of time that you have, and volunteers who are willing to help. Our Rotary party won't be until December, but because things are about to get crazy busy for almost all of us, we had to turn out today to prepare for it. One of our members has volunteered his super cool log cabin on a large acreage for the party, on the condition that we got several people to help put up their giant tree (I didn't measure, but I am going with 12 feet, maybe 15) and hang some lights and ornaments on it. We had six adults, two teenagers, and a tween show up to help us. It was plenty of people, and it made the process go quickly.
I put myself on tree duty (as opposed to garlands on upper railings). I helped assemble it, fluff it, run lights around the base while a friend was up on the ladder setting lights in neat rows, and hang star shaped ornaments of all colors and materials. I think I put more energy into this one than I have the last three or four years for my own decorations. Surprisingly, it didn't use up all of my holiday cheer yet. It kind of made me want to get a jump on things for this year around Smith Park. One of my friends said he read a study that people who put up decorations before Thanksgiving tend to be happier people overall. Conversely, people who start listening to holiday music in the same time period tend to be more unhappy. I hypothesized that the decorators are extroverts who are into sharing and pleasing, while the ones turning to music are trying to soothe a damaged soul. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
The party next month will be after dark. That's sort of a shame. The views from this country cabin were so beautiful I almost cried. You can see straight to Long's Peak from several rooms inside, and there are rolling hills and a duck-covered pond up close to admire. I would love to see what the view will be in about 36 hours, once the snowstorm that started two hours ago covers the landscape in several inches of snow and blows itself out, when the skies will again be clear all the way to the peak. That would put us all in a holiday mood, regardless of what the calendar says now.
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