"Why does Jesus get a tree for his birthday?" Mallory asked.
"That's a good question," I said, because I didn't feel like getting in to the druids and the solstice and all the other things that culminated in us putting up a plastic fir tree in our dining room on the day after Thanksgiving.
But here's why.
We put up the tree so grown-up children can open up a box of ornaments and be flooded with memories:
(There's one of many gold filigree ornaments my grandma gave me throughout the years, one for each Christmas. There's the Santa I bought on our trip to San Diego in 1999. There's one of the red prisms Chris's grandma gave me on my first Christmas in North Carolina.)
We put up the tree for little girls who exclaim with wonder over each ornament they find. "Is this one mine?" they ask, or "Where should this one go?" or "Isn't this the prettiest one ever?"
We put up the tree even though the room around it is a mess and there are a million other things needing to be done.
We put up the tree because our parents did it for us.
We put up the tree because it means that for an hour, we can turn off Nickelodeon and listen to Christmas music.
We put up the tree so every day for a month, we can stop and see something unexpected and beautiful in an ordinary spot.
We put up the tree, and we don't mind that one strand of lights won't light, and that a great majority of the ornaments are clustered in one spot, the spot the 3-year-old could reach.
We put up the tree to hear our children say, "It's awesome!" and "It's so gorgeous!"
That's the reason why.
"That's a good question," I said, because I didn't feel like getting in to the druids and the solstice and all the other things that culminated in us putting up a plastic fir tree in our dining room on the day after Thanksgiving.
But here's why.
We put up the tree so grown-up children can open up a box of ornaments and be flooded with memories:
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| From 2008-11 |
(There's one of many gold filigree ornaments my grandma gave me throughout the years, one for each Christmas. There's the Santa I bought on our trip to San Diego in 1999. There's one of the red prisms Chris's grandma gave me on my first Christmas in North Carolina.)
We put up the tree for little girls who exclaim with wonder over each ornament they find. "Is this one mine?" they ask, or "Where should this one go?" or "Isn't this the prettiest one ever?"
 |
| From 2008-11 |
 |
| From 2008-11 |
We put up the tree even though the room around it is a mess and there are a million other things needing to be done.
We put up the tree because our parents did it for us.
We put up the tree because it means that for an hour, we can turn off Nickelodeon and listen to Christmas music.
We put up the tree so every day for a month, we can stop and see something unexpected and beautiful in an ordinary spot.
 |
| From 2008-11 |
We put up the tree, and we don't mind that one strand of lights won't light, and that a great majority of the ornaments are clustered in one spot, the spot the 3-year-old could reach.
We put up the tree to hear our children say, "It's awesome!" and "It's so gorgeous!"
That's the reason why.
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