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Irving Berlin's "Counting Your Blessings" sung by Bing Crosby in "White Christmas" (1942) has been on my mind during this busy season. We are setting up our 100 Christmas Trees to celebrate 100 years since the Kump House was completed. There are many things that could go wrong with complicated events like this one planned for two Sundays, Dec. 21 and 28 from 1-3 p.m. at the historic Kump House across from Kroger in Elkins.
Bing Crosby's lyric "When I'm worried and I can't sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep" helps me when our task seems overwhelming. We enjoy real blessings now. Best of all, we are not living through a world war, we are not in the middle of a pandemic, nor are we having to deal with a devastating natural disaster now.
Nevertheless, our event is very complicated in this high-tech culture. For our daytime event we do not need lights on every tree, but we have at least 100 light cords to keep going for several hours; then there are timers to set and other light plugs to go on and off each time we come and go. Still I can sleep when Bing reminds me of our blessings. We are so lucky to be blessed with the electrifying help of Debra and Imre Barsy.
Just getting enough decorated trees on three levels of the house was a worry of mine, but friends of Kump Center have found "Tree-Mendous solutions" to my decorating problem. Examples are: Debra Barsy's West Virginia Gold & Blue Tree, Pam Byrne's Pinecones Tree with Tiny Toys, Laura Santmyer's Snowy Owl Tree, and five trees Carolyn Shepler contributed that we decorated.
Then there is the food to think about, but I have no real worries there. Santa's candy sample baggies are all ready for the kids, and Sue Russetti will bring dozens of cookies Sunday morning. Suzie Gordon will take care of baking gingerbread and keeping apple cider warm. Such helpful people are more of my blessings that allow me to sleep.
Entertainment is not a worry. We know that the little ones will have the attention they need from the kind Santa coming at Sara Gladwell's request. The toy train engineered by Malcolm Long will capture the child-like imagination in us all.
Now, I just hope all the lights did not blow off the outdoor trees in the windstorms overnight. Our math magic teaching assignment depends upon having 75 Christmas trees in the 100-year-old house and 25 trees outdoors. If all goes well, very one can see percentages and fractions of the total number of trees lighting up the learning lamps in local students' minds.