In almost thirty-five years of marriage, the Christmas holidays have always been a source of joy. Having young children growing up over the years and watching them at their first awareness of Santa Claus and seeing the excitement on their faces at viewing a wonderful light display or presents under the tree are a parents treasured memories.
The parties with friends and family offer an opportunity to renew old acquaintances and strengthen the bonds of family and community life. It is also a period of time at the end of the year to wind down the hectic pace of every day life and offer a time of reflection on times and people who perhaps have passed on. When concluded, the holidays can leave you refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to take on the challenges of a new year.
In my house there is only one thing that annually has the potential to threaten the tranquility of family life during the holidays. That one thing is putting up the Christmas tree. I just don’t get it. I am a semi intelligent guy with an ordinary but reasonable track record of achievement in life. Why is it that the Christmas tree poses such a monumental challenge?
It is not for lack of effort or even ingenuity in tackling the problem. I have had various stands and strategies and ropes and twine and fishing line. Yet still it has happened. It stands tall and sturdy and resists tests of shaking and bouncing and jumping. Yet when the bride gets it loaded up with all her beautiful and thoughtful mementoes of years gone by, she may come home to find it has toppled. This resulted in yours truly being on the bad LIST.
After a string of successes in previous years and a restoration of my confidence, last year brought about disaster. The tree tumbled and several keepsakes got crunched. It was remembrance of this event that filled me with trepidation about this years Christmas. I thought perhaps somehow nailing it to the wall in the family room might be the answer. Lo and behold Christmas came early this year. I arrived home from work one day this week to find that my nearly 80 year old beloved father in-law had gotten the tree and installed it in a few minutes, solid like a rock, like an ancient oak.
It is not the first time he has saved my bacon in home disasters over the years. Just last month I was midway through changing faucets when I had to send out an emergency call to him. When he came through the door with his acetylene bottle and torches I thought he might tell me that I should know better than to play with fire in the house without him. But no, not a word of criticism just a good-natured laugh at my current predicament.
Within a couple of days the bride got a call from a very close girl friend and a call from my sister. These two women are married to men I hold in high esteem. They can do anything around the house, from carpentry to plumbing and beyond. Unfortunately both of their trees fell over this year.
