Memory one - was our family Christmas tree. All trees are different, which is what makes them great. The ornaments, the lighting, the tree topper, they are simply the characters, descriptive words, and symbolism of your tree's (or family's) story, and all play an important role from the decorator's viewpoint (author) and the viewer's (reader's) eyes. Boys, I had to throw on my "teacher" hat for a moment to let you know that literature has also been an important part of my life.
We never had the opportunity to have a real Christmas tree, and that was my fault. I think it saddened my dad to a degree, because he often had one growing up. Due to my allergies, this wasn't an option for our household. To this day I can't have one, so I have to settle for plastic needles instead of the smell of pine.
While clear lights are the rage today, we always had color lights. Reds, greens, blues, and yellows illuminated our tree. These weren't the stars of our tree though. The true excitement occurred minutes after the tree had been turned on once the bubble lights had warmed up and the liquid began to dance like a science experiment. My dad grew up with bubble lights, and I am lucky enough to have put a string on my tree every year as an adult as well. They remind me of an earlier age, a happy time. I remember sitting and just watching them, amazed at the brightness and activity.
I never had a themed tree. We had an eclectic mix of ornaments, most with some type of sentimental value. To me, this is what a Christmas tree should be. We had ornaments we "baked" in the oven using little crystals and a metal frame (I remember a Santa face and a candle in particular). We had Sesame Street characters (Big Bird and Cookie Monster) and a Muppet ornament that was a large ball. We had handmade wooden ornaments from Mrs. Potts, one of the dearest women I have ever known. She personalized an ornament every year for me (and Clint). These were almost always sports themed (baseball glove and football helmet ornaments stand out in my mind). She gave them to us every Halloween when we visited her. I remember we had our own special bag of candy and we always visited and played fetch with their dog's favorite tennis ball. I cannot forget my favorite ornament. It is a large, somewhat tacky Santa in his pink striped pajamas. He is standing on a scale, and he doesn't look happy. I don't know why this ornament resonated with me, but it did. I always put it on the tree, and it was always placed on a low branch (naturally) on the left side of the tree. You can see it in pictures, and you can see it on my tree today. It has to be over 30, or even 40 years old. Over time, Star Wars, Alabama, and George Brett ornaments made their way to our tree as I got older. Luckily Bethany allows me to keep these on our tree, or my tree, which is located upstairs. We have the luxury of two large trees, the beautifully decorated one in our living area by the fireplace and the Monty's "He Won't Let-It-Die" tree in the bonus room (thank you, B, for allowing me to continue to live vicariously through Samuel). By the way, that last Santa pic above is a cross between a killer clown and the current (fad) Elf on the Shelf. I think he might try to harm me, but he has been around a LONG time, so I don't dare hide him.
Our tree was also decorated with gold garland. I think it looks tacky now, but it was part of our tree, and at the time, it had to be included. It did match our tree topper, which was a gold star with yellow and orange lights illuminating it. I have no idea what happened to our star. It may have met the same fate as Ralphie's special leg lamp, although for different reasons.
I loved Christmas, and I couldn't wait for Thanksgiving and my birthday to end so my dad could assemble our plastic festive tree and line the tree with a mix of colored mini bulbs and large bubble lights. Once his work was done, Mom allowed Clint and I to put our marks on the tree, which made it "ours."
If by chance anyone reads this, I would love to hear your comments about your childhood tree. What resonated with you? What made your tree better than anyone elses?
I hope to find a then pic and compare with my now pic and see just how close me memory is.
I love you boys. Love you a lot.
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