It has become our annual tradition to cut down our Christmas tree the Friday after Thanksgiving. As the kids have gotten older, they have enjoyed the hunt more and more and, in turn, it has grown to be an even more special tradition to Jeff and I. We chose a tree farm this year owned by a local older man who grows the trees in his back"yard". He has a lot of trees to pick from
and when you've cut the tree that you have decided is the best to grace your home for the next month and have brought it to him, he measures it with an outrageously long pole to figure the cost. As Jeff held the tree upright, we both eyeballed the measuring stick and saw that the tree was slightly under 7 feet. With the cost of $5/foot, we assumed we'd be paying $35. Maybe the man would charge us $32 or $33 since it was under 7 feet, but we'd be happy to pay the full 7 feet's worth since it looked so close.
And so the kindly old man measured and double checked his measure-ment, and then, without blinking, he told us that we owed him $34.21. Thirty four dollars and twenty one cents?! Who does that kind of exact calculation with a very long yard stick that towers several feet higher than the person holding it? None the less, we paid with a straight face and the Christmas tree man took several minutes hunting up our exact change in his kitchen. Then we stuffed the beautiful tree in the back of the van and headed for home.
Today, we were able to decorate the tree. This really is the best part of the whole Christmas tree tradition for the kids. I think this was the first year that Gracie fully anticipated and enjoyed the event. She squealed with delight as each ornament was pulled from her box and she took it to the tree to hang.
Jeff performed his ceremonial hanging of the star. We stuffed the tree full of all the ornaments that hold Christmas sentiments from years past.
In the end, the kids were delighted with the final result and Jeff and I couldn't help but cherish the joy that Christmas traditions, such as these, bring our family.
3 comments:
So sweet! I just finished ours today, after two false starts last night and this morning. Lights, grr... Lily was a little too rough on the ornaments, so I finished during her nap today. It was a fun surprise for her when she woke up. She thought Christmas was today! I had a hard time getting her to understand that Christmas is still weeks away!
Love your belly!
Great pics! The tree looks so nice! How are you feeling? You look great!
That is too funny about the Christmas tree man. Bob says he wants to go there just to see the man eyeball the price!! What a fun time of year!!
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