The Tree

Last year I had great difficulty working up much holiday spirit.  I had gone back to work and was finishing up the third month of working in Hell for Satan's chiropractor (before moving on to my current and far closer to heaven type of employment arrangement).  I just couldn't make myself care.  I did no baking.  I can't remember if I sent any cards.  I think I might have skipped it based on how many I have left to choose from this year.  We put a tree up and it sat in the living room bereft of any adornment for two weeks before my family finally gave up on me ever decorating it.  See they are accustomed to relying on me to cultivate the holiday spirit while they just soak it up.  Well, last year I said a bit fat "Bah Humbug" to that whole routine.

This year I've done better.  So have the other members of the household.  This weekend there was a family trip to find a Christmas tree during which there was no groaning and moaning about the process.  The first saw your own tree place, where we've gone for years, seemed to have a truly crappy selection of trees for high prices.  We left there and headed to a  new place with vastly better trees at far better prices.  A Charlie Brown type tree for $60 or a nice lush evergreen for $30.  That's a no-brainer.

It was rather late till we got back but the tree was erected Saturday night.  Of course this required hauling out the vacuum cleaner because we have to rearrange furniture to make space for the tree.  And really when you do that it's almost like an early Christmas to see what sorts of exciting things have accumulated under the love seat.  Oooh, look!  I got 4392 wrappers for cough drops!  Hey, I got a pen that leaked all over the carpet!  Wow! I always wanted a fossilized, half-eaten...uh...granola bar...or hot-dog....or something...  So the tree stood bare for the night.

Sunday the decorations were dug out of storage and put around the house.  Half the colored tree lights we had were dead beyond resuscitation.  I tried putting up the few working ones we had left but they were entirely too sparse.  If it's possible to have Charlie Brown lights on a good looking tree I think I achieved that.  I just had no interest in heading out to buy new ones so we threw on a sufficient number of white lights.  (Forgive me the white lights, Suldog.)  I got all the other decorations out while Mr. Lime and Isaac wound the few working colored lights on the banister.  By then some dinner was needed.  So the tree stands semi-clothed in white lights and leaning somewhat oddly (thanks to the kid at the tree farm who drilled it crooked).  I'm not feeling terribly motivated to finish it this evening.  It won't be ignored for two weeks like last year but in its own way the half dressed, leaning tree sort of conjures a certain holiday spirit...rather like the one guest at the party who has had a bit much to drink.

(The picture is kind of crappy since it's off my phone and really doesn't do justice to the angle of leaning.)