I can think of few better sights then seeing a freshly picked Christmas tree on top of a car, heading home to be decorated.
Since being in college I have missed being home for the picking of the perfect Christmas tree. And having a perfect eight foot tree is crucial for my mother. After decorating the tree at the ADPI house this Christmas, I am beginning to understand why she always stressed the importance of wanting a full tree. It looks busted when there are a lot of gaps.
We pick trees differently in recent years because we just get one from church. Now I’m not saying that it’s bad to support your church, but what I am saying is that I miss bundling up in jackets, scarves and gloves to go to the Christmas tree lot to pick one out. It’s just not the same in church clothes. Back in the day we would always go to this place called Andy’s. They are still in Pinehurst, but have moved locations quite a few times. I couldn’t even tell you where they are this year.
I have a terrible memory, this runs in my family, but I do have a funny memory from picking out Christmas trees as a child. The outfit I was wearing was throw-up green leggings with purple flowers, abnormally large hiking boots, and a royal blue puffy jacket. Clearly I had style. I thought this jacket was really awesome because it was one of those ones from gap where you could unzip the sleeves and make it a vest. How perfect for a girl who sweats more then your average. I have a picture of me hanging upside down on the Episcopal playground ballet bar from Kindergarten. I’m not sure if this was the same day or another. This outfit was pretty much my childhood go-to. Maybe I’ll scan it in so you get a visual.
My family and I were all looking at trees and since my patience is and always has been pretty non-existent, I took off in search of adventures. I ran in and out of trees, played hide and seek with myself, and explored. What I stumbled across was what looked to be a climbing wall made of wire, that had wreathes hanging all over it. Oh, how perfect. I was prepared for this in my boots and stretchy pants. I scaled the wall a bit and decided to shuffle over to one side. I’m sure I was bragging about how cool I looked.
Well considering I weighed about 80 pounds in kindergarten, this wire did not hold for long. Wire bending beneath me and flailing arms, clumsy little me lost my footing and landed in an ice-cold bucket of water meant to hold a Christmas tree. I guess I needed a spotter. Unfortunately, despite how big I was, I still fell all the way in.
I don’t remember much past the plopping down in the bucket. I’d imagine I started crying. I'd imagine I waddled in search of my parents only to get dragged to the car; a wood-paneled van was the beaut of the time. I'd imagine I had to wait there while my family proceeded to pick out a tree. I'd imagine I was freezing and a little grumpy since I wouldn’t be able to wear my jacket the next day. But I imagine we eventually found the perfect tree, and that was all we needed to begin with.