Just after Halloween (or earlier) stores begin their Christmas displays and the Christmas tree is at the center of it all. Trees are in all the movies, books, cards, wrapping paper, etc. Everywhere you look, the eye feasts on beautifully decorated trees. Some real with the glorious scents of Christmases gone by, others only realistic looking, and then those that I just cannot embrace. You know, the pink or black ones. The shiny silver ones. Or the upside down hanging kind. Pulls at my heart, almost like a sacrilege to my traditional Christmas spirit.
Just like everyone else, I have a Christmas tree. That's a lie. I had three trees this year, all the realistic looking kind. I have several more stored in the attic. One year, in the future, I'm going to have at least a dozen trees!
In my younger years, the tree came down Christmas afternoon or at the latest, December 26. I had no use for a tree taking up space after all the hoopla was over.
I've mellowed with time. I love my Christmas tree. I've taken down most of the decorations, but the big tree in the living room stays...for now.
Every day, Tony comes home and asks, "Do you want to take down your tree today?" And every day, the same answer. "No! Not yet." Why the obsession with a tree? I don't know. Perhaps I should be a mental study for someone. I just like the tree. It's pretty. It makes me happy. When I look at it, it reminds me of everything that's right in this crazy world. It transports me to my happy place. And that is why when Tony asks today, he'll get the same answer.
The tree stays...for now.
