The time we have to create childhood magic for our kids is limited. I’m trying to ensure my kid doesn’t get cheated.
Paula Cole asked where all the cowboys had gone when I was 12. I recall her cool voice, full of echoes and shadows, lamenting a bygone time. I’m feeling the same way about Christmas lights.
Spending each Christmas in Florida as a kid spoiled me. Most people lit up their entire lawns with reindeer and Santa outlined in lights in addition to decorating their house. Yes, Florida weather allows for people to stay outside for hours to decorate. But even in New Jersey, where I mostly grew up, everyone used to at least decorate their porch if they weren’t up to decorating the whole house or lawn. I don’t remember designated places to visit lights during this season as a kid because we used to just walk outside. I looked forward to walking around in my own neighborhood as a kid as the decorations transported me to another world. A world in which adults, as a whole, actively created magical scenery in their front yard once a year.
But that’s no longer true. Where have all the Christmas lights gone? Why don’t people bother to put them up anymore?
I suspect it’s because of that four letter word: TIME.
My pastor recently asked people if they were feeling more time-strapped and stressed out than ever, and most people said yes. Anthony and I shared a look. Nope, not us. Not right now.
We have more convenience than ever, yet people are still strapped for time. We no longer wash clothes by hand. Most of us don’t go out on the range to hunt. Most of us don’t milk our own cows.
So where has our time gone? What are we doing instead of putting up Christmas lights? Why are we, collectively, so depleted that most people aren’t bothering anymore?
I get that it’s cold outside. I get that it’s a hassle. But those things have also always been true. Which means that something in us has changed.
Maybe it’s because it’s now the norm for both parents to work. Paula Cole can’t do all the dishes while her husband pays all the bills because it takes both partners to pay the bills. No one can argue with financial necessity.
But I suspect it’s also because our perception of time has changed. Most people live connected to the internet since it’s on our phones. I used to check my phone until 11 pm for work emails and then get up at 5 am when I was teaching. I never breathed deeply. Days blurred by because I never truly unplugged.
Ecclesiastes says there is a “time for everything” and Psalms implores that God “teach us to number our days.” I am determined not to repeat the mistakes I made as a teacher as a parent. I am determined not to focus so much on teaching my own child and planning our meals that I neglect magic.
So I decorate for the holidays now. I do it for my own child, but also for every child who comes over or drives by. I am thankful to everyone who still puts up Christmas lights, even though they are few and far between in my neighborhood. I’m thankful for those who take the time to create magic for our kids. It is a wise use of time.
Anthony is my John Wayne. This is my happy ending.
What childhood memory do you want to recreate for your own kids? Please let me know in the comments below!
Thank you for sharing!
tea and tenderness 
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