No, I didn’t mean “twinkling” Christmas tree. I meant what I wrote.
Living in a home with a multiply-allergic husband, we have an annual debate about the Christmas tree. He maintains that real Christmas trees bring out his allergies. I counter that artificial trees harbor dust and other allergens, and that it isn’t Christmas without the smell of a fresh tree in the house. Over the years, we have worked out a compromise: we get a real Christmas tree. As you can tell, marriages don’t last 26 years without that type of mutual respect for each others’ needs.
We try to do everything we can to minimize the potential allergens in a real tree. This year, for instance, I bathed the trunk in bleach water, to kill any molds lurking on the trunk. He hosed off the entire tree, to wash off any pollens. The most important thing we try to do, however, is get the freshest tree possible. We found a tree lot in Blue Springs that had Fraser fir trees with lovely soft needles. After picking out the most beautiful tree on the lot, we brought it home. And the tinkling has begun.
The lovely, soft, seemingly fresh needles tinkle to the ground whenever we touch the tree. We pulled out sentimental ornaments one by one as we decorated the tree. Each popsicle-stick children’s ornament or glittery glass ball was met by happy memories- and a cascade of falling needles- as it was placed on the tree. By the time we had gotten the tree decorated, the floor was covered in a carpet of green needles. Adding water to the stand results in a needle-green hairdo. I told the kids to enjoy the green tree before they returned to school, since the tree will certainly be bare brown branches by the time that they come home in mid-December.
Oh well. The most important part of the tree is the ornaments, anyway. We have ornaments that mark different stages of our married life, and our children at different ages. Some ornaments were gifts from dear friends and family, others were acquired on trips, and others are there simply because we thought they were pretty. I will enjoy looking at the ornaments, even as they sit on the stubbly remnants of a Charlie Brown tree. Christmas traditions aren't about perfection, they are about memories and laughter and love, even in the midst of imperfection.
Silver bells may be the sound of Christmas for some people. In our household this year, Christmas will sound like the tinkle of falling needles. Fa-la-la-la-la.
