nixtress's Diaryland Diary

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Our tree is a pensieve of childhood

We put the tree up yesterday. It's seems early, even though I know it's not. I know (gasp! How is it even POSSIBLE?!) that there are only a little over three weeks until Christmas. I know that it's time to get it up.
Just seems...early.
I dug into the dark depths of the garage and hauled in the box that houses our tree. (lemme digress for a second. As a child, we always had live trees. I found, though, as I grew older that I was allergic to many of them and couldn't get anywhere near the sap for fear of swelling up like Violet in Charlie and the Choco Factory. Thus, we have a fake tree. Plus, can you picture me out sawing down my own? I'd flatten myself.) After cleaning out the fluff that some considerate mouse had left behind for us, we got it all set up and ready to decorate. The lights went a little smoother than the norm. No missing bulbs, no burnt out ones, they all just worked like they're supposed to.
Then it was time for the fun. While many families have grand traditions, filled with hoopla and hee haw, our little family is one that has quiet traditions. One of those is the unpacking of the ornaments. Themed trees are great for whoever wants them. They have an elegance about them and I'm sure it's not quite so difficult to figure out which ornament goes where when they're all the same color or nearly so.
I don't imagine I'll ever have a tree with a theme like that. There's something just so sweet in drawing out an heirloom or a childhood creation. My sons have gifted me with an assortment of cutouts and popsicle-sticked goodies, snowmen made from cotton balls and reindeer made from clothespins. There's the cinnamon dough ornament that Ry mistook for a cookie and chomped a bite out of, leaving behind two perfect tiny little teeth marks. And a soft and rounded clay handprint that Trev made when he was just three years old. Too heavy to actually hang on the tree, it has a place of honor amid my other holiday decor. You know all those old AOL disks floating around your house? Trev and Ry turned them into the funniest creations, smeared with glue and then liberally doused in all sorts of glitter and confetti shapes. There are styrofoam ornaments created around small pictures of each of the boys, looking impossibly young and small.
Of course, as they've gotten older, the ornaments have gotten more sophisticated. We have beads twisted onto pipe cleaners in the shapes of candy canes and stars, plastic cups formed into non-musical bells and icicles made out of seashells.
It's like looking at their childhood, all bundled up on one tree. My heart hugs that tree. I can't imagine it any other way. I'm hoping that the time between when my sons have outgrown a tree like that and when I have grandkids to add to it, is short.
At any rate, it's up and beautiful and reminding me every second that I look at it that time is a-tickin' and my boys won't be boys for a whole lot longer. It also screams at me to get my shopping done!
***
Today was a hodgepodge of activity. I had two separate Scout setups (one of them a pack meeting) at two separate times and thankfully, they were just around the corner from each other. Always a plus.
I was pleasantly surprised this evening. The old Scoutmaster from when the boys were in Tiger Scouts and his son Mitch have joined our group. I always thought they were so darned cute and I'm pleased to find that hasn't changed. So. Bad.
One of the boys has a physical tomorrow and then we have a den meeting for their Scouts. I think the rest of the week settles down a bit, then. At least, I'm hoping!
Happy Monday.
N.

9:43 p.m. - 2005-12-05

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