{"id":1615,"date":"2018-01-16T07:44:44","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T13:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/?p=1615"},"modified":"2018-01-16T07:45:09","modified_gmt":"2018-01-16T13:45:09","slug":"dressing-up-the-mantle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/dressing-up-the-mantle\/","title":{"rendered":"Dressing up the Mantle"},"content":{"rendered":"

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 <\/p>\n

My mantle is empty. The neighbors lights are gone. The melodramatic daily hum has filled up days. Christmas is over.<\/p>\n

I looked at my mantle: a wasteland of disappointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuess I\u2019ll be looking at this blank canvas for another 11 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then it hit me\u2026MOM\u2019S MANTLE!<\/p>\n

I pick fun at my mother. Each season or holiday is welcomed with new decorations. Buckets line her storage with spring birds, summer flowers, fall leaves, wintery branches, and every holiday trinket imaginable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you do this, mom? It is so much work! It takes so much time!\u201d<\/p>\n

I ask her the same question at the turning of each season or holiday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d she replies, \u201cI just like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

My giggles are laden with \u201cwhat a waste of time,\u201d and \u201cwhat a waste of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

The truth is she has tapped into a hidden power. The power to remind us of the hope and thrill of being alive. Like kids do! Her mantle decorations are a glimpse into why life is worth living, and why it is something to celebrate.<\/p>\n

There is nothing hum-drum about a day. It is a new bright and shiny ornament. A rebirth of the mind and body. Mornings laugh with the reunion of the sun on one side of the sky and the moon on the other chatting like old friends. Evenings settle as the moon and sun, again facing, whisper their farewells.<\/p>\n

Passing years lie to us. \u201cYeah\u2026I\u2019ve seen that before,\u201d says our dulled adult heart. Sunrise, sunset, that tree loosing it\u2019s leaves and growing them back\u2026it has all happened before. No big deal. No miracle here, folks! Carry on.<\/p>\n

The low hum of boredom returns.<\/p>\n

Except for mom\u2019s mantle. It winks at us and whispers truth:<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be disappointed! There is no such thing as the spirit of Christmas. There is only the spirit of life, joy, and wonder. Christmas just gives us permission to tap into it.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget\u2026there\u2019s wonder right outside your door. Watch as the trees slumber and hold tight to life! See the chilly air and bright colored coats of the children as they play! Isn\u2019t that worth a yippie? And what of spring? WOW! Look at all the flowers and birds and animals stretching their tired winter hardened legs!<\/p>\n

Hop to it, now! You have permission! There is a child inside of you begging to be let loose! Strike up a chorus! It\u2019s time for a party today!\u201d<\/p>\n

Giggling at and judging my mom\u2019s decorating has proven to be a pie in my face. She knew a secret. She tried to tell me, but I was too daft to listen. Though I most likely will not go \u201call out\u201d like she does, I will count this as a lesson learned.<\/p>\n

Next week, I\u2019m dressing up my mantle. It has much to say but doesn\u2019t have the words. It\u2019s my job to give it words. Life is worth celebrating\u2026so celebrate!<\/p>\n

Thanks, Mom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  My mantle is empty. The neighbors lights are gone. The melodramatic daily hum has filled up days. Christmas is over. I looked at my mantle: a wasteland of disappointment. \u201cGuess I\u2019ll be looking at this blank canvas for another 11 months.\u201d Then it hit me\u2026MOM\u2019S MANTLE! I pick fun at my mother. Each season […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,7,70],"tags":[75],"class_list":["post-1615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-crafts","category-family","category-gratefulness","tag-encouragement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1617,"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1615\/revisions\/1617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autumncalvert.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}