A Tale of Two Trees

 

This time of year I look at trees a little differently.  I’m always on the lookout for the perfect Christmas tree.  In the Hollow, we always had a live tree.  We’d all go out a week or so before Christmas and cut down a live tree.  Trees look smaller out in the wild, so you have to be careful in choosing the right size.  We always used Daddy as a measurement.  He was the perfect height leaving just enough room for the star.  It always took a little time to find the perfect tree.  Often times one would look great from a distance, but up close we’d find it had a twin trunk or some other fault.

I remember one year we found the perfect tree quickly.  We had it decorated with lights and ornaments before the tree ‘warmed’ up and got used to being inside.  There’s something about the aroma of fresh cedar.  This particular year, later referred to as the ‘year of the skunk’, we detected an unusual scent coming from the tree.  Yes, it had been sprayed by a skunk.  Since it was pretty cold that winter, we didn’t notice until it had been inside for a few hours.

Well, it didn’t take long to remove all the decorations.  But, it did take a while to get the scent out of the house.  And, we took even longer to find another tree being careful to sniff it for anything unusual!  I don’t remember the presents I got that year, but I do remember us all laughing over that tree.  Special memories are priceless.  What will your memory be this year?