Too Sentimental? Maybe

Christmas trees have always fascinated me. I can remember as a little boy helping my mother decorate our Christmas tree. My daddy cut a cedar tree, and secured it in some kind of container so the tree could be watered. That was his only contribution to our family Christmas tree. My mother made some of the decorations, and each year she bought a few. Our tree was not fancy. There was always the gold or silver roping, the tinsel, colored lights and the decorations. When we finished decorating we would turn out all the lights except those on the tree. That was a fantastic moment for me. I thought we had the most beautiful tree in the world. Even as a child I enjoyed just sitting and looking at the finished product of my mother’s and my creation. I could remember every single ornament that I placed on the tree.

From that time to now I have made sure we have a tree. Even now when very few people see it or care about our tree I continue to put it up. I used to have two or three trees, big trees, but now because our house is smaller we have only one very skinny tree, and a very small one that goes on the shelving of a bay window. Our trees are not real, they are artificial. Family members with allergies put a stop to those beautiful fir trees, and I miss that. Another thing I miss is having someone help me decorate my trees. My daughter, Susan, helped me when she was still at home. Then after we started having grandchildren they would help if they were around. Sherri used to help some. One year she got a lady from a flower shop to come in and put fancy bows and ribbons all over our tree. It was very pretty, but not my kind of tree.

I like my ornaments, and colored lights, nothing fancy, just good old ornaments with memories. I enjoy looking at ornaments we have been given over the years by students, teachers, and church members. I have a few old ornaments that my mother and I placed on the trees of my childhood. They are really special even though they are faded and show their wear. Sherri and I painted some wooden ornaments for the first Christmas we were together, and they are also extremely special. Others from when our daughters were little bring back fond memories. There is one that Susan made and the S is backwards. She says her teacher did that backward S. So many keepsakes to hang on these two small trees.

I think about leaving some in the boxes, and storing them away. I almost did that this time. Today as I was looking at those old relics I got a bit emotional. I thought, I can’t betray my old friends whom I only see for a brief time each year. They are inanimate objects of plastic, paint, cracked and scratched from years of use, but they are a part of me, they are my friends from many years past. So all of them now hang somewhere on one of the small trees, or placed on a shelf for display. Some may say my trees are tacky or too cluttered, but that’s fine. I’m about the only one who sees them any way. Am I too sentimental? I guess I am. But as long as I can decorate my tree, turn out all the lights but the ones on the tree, and see it with the wonder of a child I will continue to decorate my tree. It’s the most beautiful tree in the world.