There is something magical about the Christmas tree...of this I am sure. I absolutely love this holiday tradition, more then any other. Since I can remember, every year I have gone with either my parents or my husband to chop down the Christmas tree. Don't even get me started on those fake trees you buy in a box. I know, I know...they are allergy free, or they don't shed pine needles. Maybe you had one of those nightmare experiences where 1000 tiny spiders crawled out of your tree and invaded your home and you vowed you would never have a live tree again. I will try not to judge you too harshly. But for me, I will always chop down my own tree. Well, my husband will chop it down. I will stand next to him faithfully, take pictures and cheer him on as he lays in the mud and freezes his buns off chopping down that tree.
This year, my picture-perfect "let's go chop down the Christmas tree" experience was nearly ruined. I remember growing up there were many years we had to search for the perfect tree in the rain and that was never fun. But what I mostly remember is how fun it was; how no mater what, we always found our perfect tree and afterwards, had cheap hot chocolate made with water in tiny Styrofoam cups, watched the ducks in the pond, and would keep my eye on Santa across the way near the gift shop praying my parents wouldn't make me go sit on his lap.
So off we went, the weekend after Thanksgiving this year, our 3 kids in tow and I was so excited. This is, after all, my favorite Christmas tradition and the event that starts all the fun off for the next month! They had predicted rain that day, but as we drove that morning, the sky was clear and the rain had stopped the closer we got to the tree farm. God was giving us a rain-free day! Yes He was. I was sure of it. I mean, He wouldn't want my 3 little kids to have to suffer in the rain on this exciting day!? Right?
The first 30 minutes of tree hunting are always fun. The girls were singing carols with me, Sophie (our 23 month old) was loving walking around with all the trees and holding my hand, and Adam was busy taking all kinds of perfectly cute pictures to share on Facebook later that day. Best day ever! Well, for those first 30 minutes. But it seems like once you've been searching for that perfect tree for over 45 minutes, things take a turn. A really ugly turn. The baby is now cold and whiny and wants me to carry her. Not Daddy. Mama only. The older girls are tired, complaining their legs are aching and looking at me like, "why can't we just pick a stupid tree already and go watch a movie in our nice, warm car?!"
And then...things got a whole lot worse. It started to sprinkle. All the kids were bundled up from head to toe, so I didn't let my paranoid mommy character flaws show themselves right away. It was cold, but I just knew our perfect tree was around this corner. And then...it started hailing. I mean, seriously. Hailing. The heavens opened, the winds picked up speed, and my family of 5 had gone from the perfect scene on the front of the Christmas card, to a clip out of Funniest Home Videos. The snow and hail was coming down sideways, hitting my toddlers' face and causing screams from the girls who were now completely done with finding this stupid Christmas tree.
We ran to the car, loaded the kids in after taking off their mud filled boots and soaking wet coats, and surrendered. We drove back down the hill and I said the words I never thought I would say to my husband. "Maybe we can pick one out from the pre-cut trees."
Never have I spoken such blasphemy.
And now this probably sounds ridiculous, but I actually got teary driving down the hill to those beautifully picked, u-cut trees. But when I say this is my favorite thing to do all season, it really is. My husband is sweet enough to drive us 45 minutes to the Christmas tree farm I went to all throughout my childhood, just because I have such fond memories from there. So to leave without the experience of finding "our tree" and chopping it down...taking the family photo next to it...it just seemed so disappointing.
We left the kids in the car to watch Frosty the Snowman and continue thawing out, while we looked through the pre-cut tree selection. I hated all of them. They were too big or not the kind we like, plus they cost twice as much money! But leave it to my husband to save the day and be my hero.
Up above the pre-cut trees, the farm begins and there was a small area of trees to chop down. Within 15 minutes, we both picked a tree that looked half decent (our pickiness went out the window at that point)...it was green, it was mostly straight, and it needed to be cut down. That's about all we cared about. "This one works!" So as my kids sat snug as bugs in the car with the heater, snacks, and their movie, my husband and I chopped down that tree. Well...he chopped it down. I stood next to him faithfully, cheering him on and being the best helper elf I could be.
As the farm workers loaded the tree on our car, the sun started to shine, the storm passed, and I swear it warmed up by 20 degrees. And so, with our spirits lifted and my tears dried, we drove up to that gift store. Instead of hot chocolate like I had growing up, my kids choose Santa's lap instead. Their faces all lit up as they got to tell him what they hoped for that year and we snapped our photos as fast as we could.
We got our Christmas tree. Sure, we didn't get the pictures of everyone standing around it with pride and the kiddos missed watching Daddy suffer on the ground with his saw against the tree. But we got our tree. And if you look on Facebook under our "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" album, you will see how much fun we had in those first 30 minutes. The kids are peaking around trees with their perfect smiles, we're all posing together in the perfect shots. We are having the best, perfect time.
I told a good friend of mine the whole story and she was laughing her head off. Then we both really cracked up when she commented about my pictures I had posted of our tree outing. "It looked like the perfect time!" Oh, isn't that what Facebook is all about?! We post the cute, the pretty, the sweet, the perfect moments...and leave the stormy ones to ourselves? I didn't even do it intentionally, I just didn't have any pictures of us all 5 running to the car like crazy people in the hail-rain-snow storm. I actually wish I did.
As I look at my tree, it's so beautiful. Sure, it isn't the absolute perfect shape and it's much taller then we had ever had before! But it's real, it's ours and it's lovely. I love our Christmas tree and I love the memories that dear tradition brings every year.
~KM
12/26/2014
