Today marked a magical day for us in the Olson household.

We didn’t win the lottery.

We didn’t land some random month long vacation.

But it feels just as big, in the world we’re all navigating right now.

We put our Christmas tree up today, and it feels glorious.

It’s been a rough go the last few weeks, as some of you may relate; And I was yearning for light, and change, and positivity. What better way than decorating a tree?

The lights, the colors… it’s an instant mood boost.

The one thing we discuss that could be a bit of a happy-go-lucky curveball in the decor vision is our sweet, adorable, energetic, ornery pants little boy.

Mom may want the tree up, but it could all (quite literally) come crashing down, like “Tarzan”, swinging from a vine.

As each year slowly passes, come bigger holiday months, we wonder if it will be the year that we have to skip our tree tradition.

Will this be the year Beckett makes it his most enjoyable mission to run full speed and knock it over?

Will he pluck off the ornaments and create his own “clueless” scavenger hunt?

Or will he be overwhelmed with the sudden temporary change in his safe space?

We try our best to get him involved in the fun. To include, as well as acclimate. We play his favorite Disney carols, hype up the tradition and prompt him to put the ornaments where he’d like.

Imagine that, his favorite place to put them is on the ground. And off to his room he goes, to watch his favorite movie instead.

That’s okay baby, you don’t HAVE to participate. We tried it, you tried it, and that’s all that matters.

So mama jumps in and does what she loves, placing bulbs and various character ornaments around the tree. I’m in my happy place filling all the lonely spaces between each branch.

Then we recreate a photo memory every year, where Dad lifts Beckett up to put the star on the very top. It’s my most favorite part.

This year’s photo was filled with lots of burly dad grunts, Beckett giggles and belly laughs, as this sweet boy is much heavier than the years prior.

Beckett sprinted, rolled and danced around the living room, lit up with excitement, the moment we lit up that tree.

And the whole afternoon, I had a relieved, grateful smile plastered on my face.

He didn’t participate in the decorating, didn’t hang around for the music or treats, but his face when he saw those lights come on… that is my joy.

He is my joy. Every single day.

To those that believe this type of holiday tradition is best suited in a certain week of the year, just take a look at this face, and you’ll see why timelines aren’t a thing around here.

Find your joy, and then do that. Be that. Share that.