Oh Christmas Tree

This is the first year I have ever had my very own Christmas tree. When I was single and living in a one bedroom upstairs apartment it made no sense to get a tree. I mean, who was going to lug the thing up the stairs, and how would I have gotten it home in the first place, tie it to a sled and have Biscuit mush it home? And honestly, who was going to look at it besides me and the dog? Instead of having a tree at my place, I just went to my parents house and enjoyed theirs. That’s the luxury of having a mom who continues to indulge all of your childhood wishes. She still decorates a tree and puts out our stockings even though me and my brothers are grown and gone. That’s what a good mom does though, she lets you feel like a kid when you’re home. But I digress…

Last year Casey decided that instead of getting a normal Christmas tree, we would get one of those small potted trees they sell in the garden section of Target. He said that instead of buying a dead tree year after year, he would grow a tree for me. Each year the tree would represent how far we have come as a family. Sounds lovely right? Well, the tree was dead before January. I don’t know what that represents.

This year Casey went out on his own and brought me back a truly beautiful tree. It is just what I had imagined. My in-laws brought over decorations, taking into account David’s proclivity towards breaking things that he touches. There was an assortment of little wood men, women and animals that were sure to stand up to David’s, let’s just call it enthusiasm. My tree fully decorated was beautiful.

In the beginning

That lasted for about a day and a half. Then I started finding random body parts of wooden people around the house. A leg here, a ski pole there, and suddenly it was if a bomb went off at the North Pole. I had dismembered Christmas figures strewn about the house. At first I tried to repair the damage and put them back on the tree, but at some point I realized it was pointless. I did gather the wreckage with the hopes that some super-glue will salvage them for next year.

The carnage.

And so our tree is being left unadorned from David’s arm length down. It may look silly, but I have a feeling that one day I will look back on this and laugh. Ah, ha ha, remember that time David ripped the legs off the mouse ornament? Oh, and he really taught that sledding pig a lesson! Well, maybe some day.

How our tree looks now.