christmas tree tales

the first year that matt and i were married we spent christmas in the unfurnished town house we rented in the rocky mountains. we were too poor (or perhaps cheap) to buy a real christmas tree, so i made a cardboard cut-out and painted it green, topping it with a tinfoil star and ornaments made out of cracker boxes. two days after christmas i hauled home a real tree that someone had discarded at a dumpster two blocks away. i was stoked to have a 'real tree' even though it was a tad bit late and the needles and tinsel were falling off all over the place. i think my crazy excitement and extreme happiness were the only reasons matt didn't make me turn around and take it straight back to the dumpster.

this year felt a little bit like that year. fake needles flew every where as i dragged my extremely heavy, $7 second hand tree through the garage and across our living room floor. as i opened the extremely fake branches, it became apparent that the original spot i had chosen to place it in was not going to be large enough and i instead had to remove the corner section of the couch in order to accommodate the beast. matt walked out of his office in mid-move, shook his head, and returned back to his work leaving me to it. it now stands in the corner, slanting slightly to one side, with lights half burnt out and covered in old decorations matt made when he was five years old.

it's been eight christmases together and still, i think if it wasn't for my crazy excitement and extreme happiness surrounding things like very large fake christmas trees and glittering lights, matt would've been tempted once again to make me turn around and take it straight back. although i have to admit, this year, with this tree, i don't think i would have disagreed.