Of Moose And Men

I used to be a Christmas decorations snob. Maybe more...opinionated is a better word. I pooh-poohed the tacky, the bizarre, the outright gauche. It isn't as if I have the perfect Southern Living house, good grief certainly not. We put up a tree, hang some greenery outside, and sometimes I remember to get out my few pieces of Portmeirion china that I really do love. That's just about it, and one year we didn't even get a tree - we had a Christmas poinsettia we put some ornaments on. In my dream world I would have a beautifully decorated home and host a fab Christmas party and then, right when I'm enjoying my daydream, my pragmatic side kicks in an rudely reminds me that I am a lazy person who would HATE taking down all that stuff. And it's true. And that's the main reason why I don't put up a whole lot of decs. I am lazy. Hope you just enjoyed that rabbit trail.

A few years ago my snobbishness began to wane when I was listening to someone who was a REAL snob rant about the tacky and I got a little indignant. I began thinking, "These great folk are all fired up to put up the plastic Santa they'd had for 30+ years and, well, they have the right". So bring on the purple lights and the huge tree covered with 30 strands of white lights with 1 strand that blinks. Bring on the sleighs from the 70's and the santa's "hanging" from the roof and the blow-up penguins and the yards filled with every_single_mish-mash one can get from Home Depot. You know why? Because we are now one of "those folk".

Last year we got a knock on the door around midnight. Honestly, who the frick knocks and runs ON OUR DOOR???? Lawd help them if one of our kids had woken up. I opened the door and spied nothing but a small box on the porch. Mmm...cookies from the neighbors. Some broken, some of the not-preferred variety, but who cares? Why in the world would they be delivering cookies this late at night? Mmm....cookies.

The next morning, we're backing out of our driveway to go to church when I said "WHAT IS THAT!??!?!?". It was this:


A moose. A moose whose head waggles back and forth and has lights on it. Lawn art. In my yard.

It took a couple hours to figure out who did it and the hooligans then made certain to tell me the trouble it took to put the thing together, go out in the wee hours in the cold, set up the moose, realize they didn't have the correct extension cord, go home, knock-and-run (these guys...ahem - MEN are of the age that sprinting is not appreciated), and do it all while under the influence of beverages. Grown men. Not grown-up, but grown. And they've changed my life. How? Because a certain now-five-year-old was 100% delighted to have a Christmas Moose, and felt loved because some boys wanted her to have one, and I can't deny her that joy. The Moose was lovingly stored in our basement and set up last weekend to the wonderment of our kids. The Trio love it, Ainsley loves it, and I love it.

So please go discover your inner Griswald and decorate the crazy out of your house. Our kids go insane and squeal when we do the "let's search for lights" drive, and the more lights and lawn ornaments, the better. They scream "KISSMAS IGHTS!!!" every time we pass a house and, believe you me, it is fun. In their eyes, those are the coolest families in the universe. I just wish I wasn't so lazy or we'd be close behind. The moose is perfect for right now.