The spirit

It happens to me every year.  As much as I may want to be dismissive about the enormous commercialization of Christmas and roll my eyes at the fact that Christmas decorations and candy and gifts are already on the shelves before Thanksgiving, at some point I always get sucked in; possessed with the Christmas spirit.  It's a matter of the senses: the smell of pine and cinnamon, the sound of beloved Christmas carols, the feel of fluffy red Christmas stockings, a glimpse of the first cleansing dust of snow.

Today was the first time that I seriously considered getting a tree.  I realized that it was enormously important to me to have a tree this year.  I didn't like the notion of getting it by myself, but when I ventured to Fred Meyer today I found a tree I couldn't leave behind.  It was a Noble, one of the most desired of Christmas tree options in the Pacific Northwest.  It was small and I wanted something diminutive for the apartment.  Finally, it was on sale, and I have very little resistance against a bargain.  

So, I bought it, carried it up the three flights to the apartment and pulled my small box of Christmas decorations out of the storage closet.  I used to have lots of Christmas decorations, but somewhere among all of my many moves in the last few years, they were lost - given away inadvertently, most likely, in a box sent to Goodwill.  The loss I most regret is a little angel that used to sit on my Grandma and Grandpa's tree top every year.  She wasn't very elaborate, but she had a rhinestone on her eyelash and I thought that made her magical somehow.  My consolation is that my current tree topper lights up.

I think the little tree looks good in the little living room, between the plant stand I found at Goodwill and the crackly cat tube that the cats use to hide from each other, despite the rather revealing 'window' on the side.  Stockings for over the fireplace are next on my list!