Christmas is such a time of nostalgia.
Often times the things you unwrap from boxes are family heirlooms or things you got for your house because you had one just like it growing up.
How about your Christmas tree?
My mom had the most beautiful tree – people would always say is this tree real? I remember when she brought it home in a big box in January from an after Christmas sale. I was so excited to see such a large package but she said we didn’t need to open it because it was a Christmas tree and we could put it up next December… what? That’s a full year away!
I would have been happy to be an artificial tree person my whole life: buy one that looks real and full and you can manipulate the branches to hold on tight to your ornaments – that makes sense to me. Year after year you just open the box and there it is: ready to be assembled!
But nine years ago I married a guy who insisted we get a real tree… humph.
However, it has turned into one of our most joyous days of the year as we head out for the hunt.
Every year we’re looking for a nice straight, full tree.. but we live in the Great White Very North and sometimes straight and full are hard to find. And once we’re out there looking at all the beautifully imperfect trees, it’s hard to remember why we need that instagram worthy one.
We have come home with tall and sparse, wide and disgruntled… double trunks and ‘Oppsies! That one might have been dead before we cut it down.’
But this year – we found one that I’ve affectionately named The Leaning Tree of Christmas. It was in the forest reaching, almost sideways, for light.
It reminded me of a tree that does the same reaching out over lake Superior at my parents cottage.
When we saw it- it wouldn’t have mattered if there was a spotlight on the straightest fullest tree in the woods…this near horizontal branch was coming home with us.
I was in love!
My husband made it a custom stand which includes lots of wood and a vice grip to keep it standing and we could only put our most sentimental ornaments on it… because it really doesn’t have that many branches.
But I wonder if next year our criteria will be to find one that looks just like this. Every time I look at it I’m reminded of an ornament my mom sent me last year with a picture of Lake Superior on it that says All Hearts Come Home at Christmas…
And this tree sure feels like home.
