A Less is More Christmas

I have spent the afternoon trying to perfect our family's Christmas card photo after an amateur photography session in our living room. Overall, it came out well and if you are lucky enough to be on this years exclusive card list, you will be able to admire the perfection of the LeBlanc family 2017. No worries if you are not, I am providing some outtakes of our wonderful experience along with a few shots of my simple Christmas decor this year.

I have moved into a place of purging and am trying to only hold onto things that I find add value or beauty to my life.  Over the last few months, I have made 7 runs to the local Goodwill donation center in our fully loaded SUV, discreetly recycled several unlovely items and successfully completed more than a few Craig's List transactions. I am working on living out a new normal that has been the unplanned result of the past year's cancer episode. This 'normal' finds me wanting to live with much less. As my possessions have begun to dwindle, I am finding that my contentment with life is increasing. I do not consider myself a minimalist, mostly due to the fact that I hate labels of any kind. Nor would a true minimalist consider my lifestyle to be the same as theirs. I feel that a home should still provide a softness and comfort that is void in utilitarian emptiness.

With Christmas approaching, I am a bit concerned that the clutter that often accompanies the holidays will take over my new found simplicity. As I have made plans for the festivity that can not be avoided this time of year, I have done my best to only bring in what is authentic and beautiful. This year there is no fake tree or yards of synthetic garland. We have cut down
a much smaller fir tree, decorating it only with the ornaments that mean the most to our family. The only other decoration this year comes from the evergreen monstrosity that lives in the backyard. The plan is to spend this season visiting and attempting some new experiences with my family. My boys are no longer boys, but young men. I know that the time I have left with them is short, and this year I am hoping that what I have cleared and de-cluttered from my life will have made enough room for what I truly know to be beautiful and valuable.