………In the tv show “The Grinch” Cindy Lou Who tells us that “Christmas comes without cookies, gifts…..” A person enamored of the movie when my kids were little, I took Cindy Lou at her word and removed the stress of baking dozens of cookies which never got eaten. I found there were people who baked much better than I who would sell them to me. I stopped chilling out about the perfect gift and discovered gift cards when the kids got older. But there is one thing that is essential for Christmas to come. and even Cindy doesn’t mess with that……… “the Christmas tree.”
……..No matter what December might bring, the last of November found me putting up a tree for to me the tree was proof of the beauty of the season. Like many of you, Christmas is hard. Bill died December 15 two years ago. I had put the tree up Dec.1, in hopes that we would have one more Christmas together. He didn’t make it. But the tree continued to shine even though the darkness would not leave my heart.
……..Christmas trees were messy when I was a kid. We only had live trees and we went to the Fireman’s lot to search for the perfect tree. I learned when I was five years old that there was no perfect tree. We were looking for a long needled, fat, full tree for me; my Dad required no bald spots and a tree which was even so he could put it in the stand and not have to start chopping away, Oh and he wanted it to reach the ceiling. My Mom was an outlier. She wanted a short-needled tree that was nicely shaped and not so fat that it looked as if was giving birth to baby trees, 5 ft was a nice height and it should fit in the designated space without taking over the entire living room. We left Mom home when Dad and I went to pick the tree.
………..While I feel we celebrate Christmas the whole month of December, it wasn’t always so. With live trees, Christmas was condensed into three or four days. After getting the tree,we erected it the night before Christmas eve. That tree that looked perfect in the lot had developed spinal problems on the way home which caused my Dad to try to make to bottom even as he put it in the holder. The tree responded by not being stable and wobbling. This wasn’t my Dad’s first rodeo, and he yelled for my Mom to bring a clothes line. He tied one end to the core of the tree and the other end to the curtain rod. Luckily the tree always sat in front of a window. As an adult living in the same house I now wonder if the tree looked good there or if the tree had to where was a curtain. No matter,70 years later and the tree still sits in its designated spot.
……..We would put the lights on the tree because getting them to all light up called for much swearing on my Dad’s part. We were all cranky and as a child I used to wonder if we would get this tree together. My mother expressed her disdain for the poorly-chosen tree, by standing in the hallway with her arms crossed shaking her head while the heathens did their work. We retired that night cranky and excited for the best was yet to come. You see we decorated the tree like a normal family on Christmas Eve Day complete with Christmas music and my Dad’s special punch made up green sherbert and seven up.
………This is where normal aways took a turn for worse. My Dad worked half a day on Christmas Eve and then departed the office to make few stops. That meant he was delivering gifts to businesses he did business with. In the tradition of old, they would close down for their office party. They always had a gift for him, as well. His first stop would always be the payroll office at Weirton Steel. He was the sole Justice of the Peace that did wage attachments. He would stay for a drink or two, to not drink with the party givers was a breech of etiquette in his world. His travels continued to the Credit Union in Steubenville, businesses in Weirton and ended with the old A8S in New Cumberland. And at home we waited…..and waited. The bulbs were all neat in a box. The tinsel had been spread out only to be draped. And the crowning glory, the boxes of icicles waited to be strung. We had it all …….except Dad. One turned into 2 o’clock. I swear my mother had smoke coming out of her head. And, I just sat in front of the tree and waited.
………Around three, he would show up, happy and laden with gifts that ranged from a ham, several boxes of chocolates, and multiples bottles of liquor. This is where the Christmas fun began. He would sit in the chair across from the tree and watch my sister, Marsha and I, put the ornaments up and string the tinsel. The only part in which my Dad like to participate was putting the icicles on the tree. My sister would put icicles on one at time; I would put them on in clumps, but my Dad liked to fling them at the tree from the chair where he sat. And, my Mom. Well this wasn’t her first rodeo either. She would pull out her electrolux sweeper and would be ready to do battle. You see, the tree just fell short of my Dad’s icicle toss no matter how enthusiastic was his throw so as every icicle hit the floor, she would swoop in and suck it up into the sweeper. Sometimes, she would get so good that she would suck up an icicle mid flight. Finally, we would declare the tree the most beautiful one ever. I would also say that my Dad was the most funnest ever while my sister and Mother glared.
……..We would retire to get cleaned up because guests were arriving at 7 a.m. I remember being the first ready and coming downstairs. The lights in the living room would all be off and the tree would look magical. In Christmas dress and patent shoes, I would lay down in front of the tree and talk to the nativity scene where I would thank God for many things. The chaos that had taken place at this very site only hours before seemed far, far away and Christmas with this crazy, not normal family seemed perfect.