Christmas Tree…Down!!

So our house had a little mishap today.  My boyfriend’s 5-year old daughter was playing with the husky, Eli, with a massive rope toy.  She was swinging it around, hitting the coffee table and sofa.  I asked/told her twice to stop and get away from the furniture.  Both times, she moved away from the couch, but after the second time, I walked back into the kitchen and the next thing I heard was a loud crash.  I immediately knew what it was based on the sound.  I walked around the corner and the tree was on the ground.  I immediately knew some of the ornaments had been broken.  See, this year, we used my small 4.5′ fake tree because we were in the process of moving (Scott and I moved in together) and knew we wouldn’t have time for anything else.  On that note, we also only used my ornaments because we knew exactly where they were and wouldn’t have to get anything else from the attic.

I have to admit, I was devastated cleaning up the mess.  My heart was broken as we picked up the tree and all the little pieces of the broken ornaments.  I have LOTS of pug ornaments that I’ve accumulated over the years (thanks mom and Court).  I wanted to cry.  But I realized as we were cleaning up, me and Scott and his two sons, that this mess…this disaster, had brought all of us together to work together to clean up.  Scott and his oldest son helped find pieces of the ornaments and glue them back together.  In all, we actually only lost one ornament that had shattered into several pieces.  The ones we glued back together, while they may have a little part missing from here and there, are still usable.  It actually turned into a fun afternoon putting everything away and figuring out what pieces went to which ornaments.

But in going through this, I realized how much I have grown up (yes, it’s taken me a long time to realize that, LOL).  In the past, I would have been so angry and upset and crying and been very ugly about the whole situation.  In fact, I think Scott was more upset about it because he knew how much my ornaments meant to me (they all have some sentimental value of some sort…I have lots of them with my pugs’ names on them…luckily, none of those broke).  I told him, “It’s fine, sweetheart.  The tree is fine and the ornaments are just things.  She’s not hurt and the dog’s not hurt and nothing is seriously damaged.  It’s okay.”  And I really meant it.

I don’t know why I felt the need to share this with you all, but it’s part of my 2015 resolutions.  I want to focus more on the positives in my life and stop complaining so much.  I have so much to be thankful and grateful for.  I could’ve been angry and upset and made the situation so much worse.  Scott’s daughter was crying and I walked up to her and told her that it upset me that she knocked the tree down, but that I was glad she was okay.  I wiped her eyes and helped her blow her nose and got her something to drink.  I calmed her down and in the end, she came over and helped us put the ornaments away.  And that, all of us, working and laughing together, is what I’m so grateful for.  It made it all worth it.

Bad things happen…mistakes happen.  That’s life.  But it’s how you handle it that really makes you who you are.  Focus on the good things that come out of those mistakes and you will be much happier.  And on the plus side, our Christmas decorations are down and we can get them stored in the attic :) One less project for this weekend.

I hope you all have an amazing weekend and focus on all the positives in your life!  Write down one to two things a day that you are grateful for and you’ll start to see a positive shift in your attitude and your life.

With love and wellness,

Whitney