What is taking you so long; it’s time for us to go.
We need to get going, we’ve got tickets for the show.
It’s already seven, and the curtain’s up at eight.
And if we don’t get moving, you know that we’ll be late.
You’ve been there for hours, hanging tensile, stringing lights
If you don’t stop that stuff right now, we’ll be staying home tonight
Frustration welled inside me as I knew that I was beat
It’s going to take a lifetime to decorate that tree

Amused she looked up at me, I don’t think she heard a word.
A worn out box of ornaments lay right in front of her.
She asked me to calm down these were the last ones that she had
And then soon we’d be on our way, don’t bother being mad.
So she started to hang them, strange shapes and some that glowed
One was even an orange peel, cut to look like a flake of snow
I knew they couldn’t be store bought, so where did she find these
Curiosity got me, I asked honey would you tell me please.

She said this one came from Meghan when she was in first grade
Hannah made this snowman his hat’s begun to fade
And here’s one from Nicholas a Santa on his sleigh
I don’t recall who made this star, but I couldn’t throw it away.
She unwrapped every single one, and found a branch for each
I even helped her hang a few in places she couldn’t reach
I was amazed she saved them all, a mist engulfed my eyes
How quickly children grow up, how quickly time goes b

And so we finally finished, but now its half past ten
There won’t be any show tonight we’ll have to try again
But the lesson that I learned instead will always stay with me
I learned it takes a lifetime to decorate a tree
Yes, it takes a lifetime to decorate a tree