Oh Christmas Tree!

Christmas is coming!


When I was growing up, decorating in our home was a lot of work.  Building the Great Pyramids would have been easier than  getting the tree in the door and up the 6 steps to our living room.  At least the way my dad did it.  The amount of swearing was in direct proportion to the height of the tree. It wasn't until I was married and Jack and I were putting up our first Christmas tree when I learned that you don't need to tie the tree to a curtain rod.  That was what my dad always did and it took a lot of convincing for me to believe that a tree could actually stand without additional ropes and ties.  (Although about 10 years ago our decorated tree did fall and crash to the floor for no explainable reason.  I explained it by saying that Jack didn't have it straight in its stand, but Jack insists there was no explainable reason for that tree to fall.)

A spotlight and wreath  on the front door and a decorated tree was all the Christmas cheer my father could muster.  We did sit down and watch the burning of the traditional yule log on Christmas Eve.  It was  on channel 13 on our TV.  We had a fireplace, but the only thing it was used for was a hiding place when my brother, sister and I played Hide 'n Go Seek.

Each year my mom would scotch tape a plastic candle to the window sills of all the front windows  and my father felt like that was going overboard.  I loved the candles and to this day it only feels like Christmas to me if I can fall asleep by  white plastic candlelight.  (Of course, growing up if we ever did fall asleep with the plastic candle still lit we were awakened by my mom screaming and reciting all the latest statistics on the increased incidence of house fires at Christmas.)

More later.  Gotta go....I think I left a plastic candle burning.