Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Charlie Brown called, he wants his Christmas tree back.

This past weekend marked the fifth annual S family Christmas tree gathering. This year we were fortunate enough not to have to spend any money on it. Pete's granny owns some property up in the mountains and she graciously let us cut down one of her many. Fun was had by all. I forgot how nice it could be to hike around in the woods with my family. It took us a while to find our tree. But find her we did. I couldn't help but think that "natural" trees weren't as perfect as Christmas tree lot trees. They're sparce, they have big holes in the sides and sometimes they're lopsided. However, they also aren't half dead either. I guess you take the good with the bad.
My Charlie Brown tree is sitting behind me, hideously decorated just the way I like it. Every bare inch covered in SOMETHING.

This is by far my favorite time of the year. I get giddy when I think about Christmas trees, sweaters, Santa, peppermint mochas, peppermint ice cream, peppermint in general...and all of our special traditions that are specific to my family. I've had Christmas music playing continuously around the clock, much to the annoyance of my husband. Deep down I think he loves it! Having kids makes it even sweeter. I can't explain the joy I feel when I see the delight on their faces when they see the pile of gifts under the tree. I can't help but laugh when they see the tree for the first time and THEY laugh. It's something everybody should experience.

These are the happy thoughts that I force myself to think of at the end of each day. A day that has required constant vigilance due to my one year old's determination to pull the tree down on himself or choke himself to death on an ornament. A day that was filled with my three year old asking again and again if he could have just one more chocolate from the advent calender. And me having to say, "no" again and again. A day filled with long lines at the store, impossibly big piles of presents to wrap, and no time for a nap. And you know what? Thinking about the above truly works in lifting my spirits. When I have so much to be thankful for it's simply too much effort to be angry. For the first time in my life I could get nothing on Christmas morning and still feel so incredibly blessed, because honestly, I totally am.

1 comment:

Jessie said...

Huzzah! What fun.

You should post some photos. I would love to see your tree.

We are going to get a tree this week, i hope!