A Holiday Tree

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Ryan and I went up to the mountains to cut our tree. This is our first tree in our new house because last year we had three little kittens to deal with...not a good mix with sparkling lights and ornaments. We drove up past Feather Falls with Myles & Kristina & "B" and attempted to find the "perfect" tree. Of course, finding the "perfect" tree is much easier said than done and requires more than a little hiking (my part) and cutting (Ryan's part).

Christmas is a difficult holiday for me. As a child, I was raised JW and never celebrated Christmas. I never felt deprived, but I don't have those childhood memories of lighting the tree, writing letters to Santa, and waking up Christmas morning to a slough of presents. It still feels like a brand new experience to me. I often have internal struggles over what Christmas really means to me because of the differences in what I was taught to believe growing up, what other people believe, and what I think I believe now.

I don't celebrate Christmas as a celebration of Jesus' birth or some other significant religious experience. I celebrate it because it is a good excuse to get the family together for some good food and quality time together. Gifts are shared to show our appreciation for one another and to celebrate the end of another year together. So much happens in a year, Christmas is a nice time to sit back and reflect...on accomplishments, goals, good events and bad, big things and small. Often, we all have time off of work together and can really sit back and relax. I love to decorate for the holidays, simply for the excuse of putting up sparkly twinkling things like lights and ornaments. If it were up to me, my house would be filled with twinkle lights year round (unfortunately, I don't think the tree would last that long).Ryan and I have cut our own tree every year since we've been together (except for last year, of course). It really would be easier to go buy a tree from a lot, or to buy a fake tree, but it just isn't the same experience as tromping through the woods trying to pick the best one. In past years we have waited until closer to Christmas and had to hike/drive in the snow. While we normally welcome a snow trip anytime...dragging a tree through the snow isn't so much fun. This year, we decided to go up right after Thanksgiving before the first snowfall. This made it so much easier and will probably become our tradition from now on.

So, cheers to Christmas, and any other holiday that brings my family closer together. In my ideal world, we would get together more often and for no reason at all, but for the time being, the holidays will be more than enough.