From My Perspective: To Decorate or Not to Decorate - and When

There are jokes about it everywhere.

There are memes on social media, conversations at the bars, and everywhere in-between. Wonder what I'm talking about this time? Well, it's decorating for Christmas too early and the timelines we "should" be following when it comes to this sort of thing....thing.

There seem to be very strong opinions one way or the other. There are those decorators who love this time of year and can't wait for the Christmas lights, trees, and hoopla. Then, there are the "Bah, Humbug" folks who have this idea that the decorating for such holidays can't begin until after Thanksgiving, if decorating even occurs at all. Neither is wrong, neither is right. It's a personal preference like so many nowadays that come under fire, just like everything else we do in life.

But, what about a different concept? How about if we try "live and let live," or as I like to say, "you do you. It's not really hurting anything either way." So why is it such a big deal kind of opinion?

I personally love to decorate for each holiday. I love fall leaves, scarecrows, pumpkins and all the colors of fall. But I won't lie... even though I'm Jewish by birth and celebrate Hanukkah, there's just something about getting the Christmas tree out, going through all the ornaments that bring back memories of the person who made them for you, gave them to you, or the ones that were special enough to purchase for yourself.

In my opinion, there's something about the snow and the white of winter that needs the color of decorating. Mostly I decorate for each season because the process and the outcome make me smile. Sorry, there's nothing like coming home to a house with Christmas lights to add that smile to your face - or in this case mine - at the end of the workday.

I know the holidays may not be everyone's cup of tea or may bring back bad or hurtful memo-ries. Holidays are hard for me, too. My family isn't close by. My kids are in Philadelphia, my mom in California, my stepmom and step-family in North Carolina, my brother and his family in Las Vegas and my dad, well that's one of the toughest things, even four years later, about the holidays. I think that's part of the reason I find so much comfort and joy in decorating for the seasons. It provides some solace and even some happiness in the midst of feeling alone.

I once worked at a riding stable in Pennsylvania where the Christmas lights in the barn were up - and on - all year long. Why, you ask? The owners of the stable had a friend who was diag-nosed with cancer, and unfortunately passed away. One of the things he said to them was to never wait to celebrate, and that everyday should be celebrated like Christmas. They took it to heart and Al & Lauren never took those lights down until they closed and sold the stable. Those lights were a wonderful reminder to all of us who worked there every day of the year.

I'm sure it's as hard for those of us who like to decorate to live with those who are Scrooge-like and despise it or think it should only happen at specific times, as it is for them to live with someone who is full of holiday cheer and wants to decorate as early and as often as they can.

Whatever side of the decorating fence you stand on - or even if you hang out riding the line - stand tall and do what works for you. Each of us have our reasons and are coming to it with our own beliefs, baggage and ways of coping.

So, you all do you, and try to remember that to decorate or not to decorate is fine either way. It's not our place to judge. No one is going to change anybody - and we shouldn't be trying anyway.