This is a good one! Again, this one would be backed by a recent occurrence. For the first time in fifteen years, I got a REAL Christmas tree for 2010! My family always had a real tree when I was growing up, and after my Daddy passed away, it got to be pretty difficult to go through the process. From then on, plastic trees were the game plan.
In fact, there's one funny memory that comes to mind. (Truth be told, I'm not 100% sure if I have this memory or if I've just been told the story so many times). Back in the day when I was a wee Chicken Wing, we had a very full real Christmas tree. After it was all decorated and things were looking very Christmas-like, I was sitting on the living room floor watching television on the GINORMOUS TV we had.
Allow me to digress for a minute. I'm sure you remember the kind - they had this slightly bulging curve for a television screen and ridiculous wood paneling. I mean, it was literally like a solid piece of furniture with a TV screen inside of it. Not to mention, it must have weighed 500 pounds!
Anways, back to the memory - I was sitting on the floor engrossed in some program of the cartoon variety. All of a sudden, Christmas attacked! Our beautiful real tree fell over and swallowed me up. The way Mom tells it, you couldn't see me at all! Needless to say, I'm sure there was a healthy mixture of panic, laughter, and shouts of, "Get that tree off my baby!"
I know that was a long and winding road off the beaten path that was this prompt: December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)
The real Christmas tree created the sense of wonder that I hadn't experienced in so long. Getting all bundled up (it was only 20 degrees that evening), laying all the seats down in the SUV, and driving 25 minutes to pick out the PERFECT Frasier Fir brought back memories from childhood. It really is a magical experience. Then, you get to set it up in the tree stand and get to decorating! You have to be meticulous in your ornament placement, because unlike the old faithful plastic tree, you can't bend the branches to hold the heavy ones. Real Christmas trees simply do not work that way. Plus, you actually have to water the real tree so there is a sense of wonder in that, too. (If I don't nurture this tree, it will die.)
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| A very proud Comanche with his perfect tree! |
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| Now this cultivates wonder! |
Until next time,
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