”Oh, the Christmas tree’s my favorite of all the trees that grow.”
Today is mostly sunny with a blue sky and a few clouds. Today is also cold, 32°, but it is winter and mid-December. At least there is no wind. My tree is coming inside. My boxes of decorations are up from the cellar, but I still need to carry up part of the tree stand and the box of tree lights. I think that will make a total of nine or ten trips up and down the stairs. I need a Sherpa.
When I was a kid, decorating the tree was my favorite Christmas tradition. We each had our parts. My dad brought in the tree and secured it in the tree stand. He put on the lights but only after untangling all the strands. He was not a patient man when it came to puzzles like Christmas tree lights. The rest of us were the decorators. My mother was tasked with putting the garlands on the tree. They were made of foil and were different colors. We had red and green and silver and a few odds ones with colored beads. Her next task was to place the large ornaments at the top of the tree away from danger. After that we all decorated. Our heights determined where we put the ornaments. My sisters filled the lower branches, my brother and I the middle and my mother the top. My father watched. His jobs were done.
Last to go on the tree were the controversial icicles. Other than my mother, we usually tried to toss the icicles in bunches on the branches. We were tired by the time it came to icicles. Putting them, one at time, on the ends of the branches seemed an endless task. My mother would take the bunches off the tree and place them one a time. Every year she told us the same thing. They are supposed to look like real icicles, like the ones which hung down from the eaves of the house. We did that for a while, tired of it and let my mother do the rest.
I remember the finished tree. It was covered in colored lights, the shining garlands and all the different ornaments. When I would stand back to take it all in, I was filled with awe. It was the most beautiful tree.
When I decorate today, my heart will be filled with all those memories. I will stand back and still be filled with awe.
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
December 14, 2024 at 4:09 pm
Hi Kat,
Today the sky is clear with a high predicted high of 70°.
It’s also my better half’s birthday. And, my company holiday party is tonight. So, we have a room at the Embassy Suite Hotel where the party is being held. My wife, my daughter, and myself, spent last night and will spend tonight at the hotel. If you’ve never stayed there, they offer a two room suite with a full cooked to order breakfast, and a complementary happy hour.
I never know what to get her for birthdays and anniversaries, so I thought a couple of night stay at the hotel would be a nice gift.
I assume that along with Trump will reappear the, “War on Christmas”, nut jobs. Once again we will be inundated with people who get offended with anyone saying, “Happy Holidays” to them. Thankfully, Christmas only occurs once a year.
I get very happy when one of these right wing, Protestant, “Prosperity“, church pastors gets fired because of inappropriate contact with youngsters. There’s been a rash of them recently. “Prosperity” churches preach that God expects you to become wealthy and support the church with large donations. It’s a means to make far right wingers feel good about themselves when they don’t help those who are really less fortunate than themselves. We have several of these churches here in North Texas, which is the buckle of the Bible Belt. Also, it shows that all religions have their share of pedophiles in the pulpit, not just the Catholics.
December 14, 2024 at 9:45 pm
Hi Bob,
Now we are down to 24°, and by morning it will be in the teens. My sister lives in Colorado, and it takes her weather four or five days to get here. She had weather in single digits.
That’s a great birthday present. We all get to the age when we don’t need stuff. Experiences and adventures are far better and more memorable.
Did you forget it was Trump who brought back Christmas? He told us enough times.
I haven’t ever heard of Prosperity churches. I love their message, not self-self servicing at all. The Catholic Church opened the flood gates. Remember 2016 and Pizzagate?