P365 - 2016 - Day 338 - tradition...tree farm
My Wonderful Husband and I have been married more than 19 years and this will be our 20th Christmas. (our 23rd together but our 20th married) Our first Christmas, we started our tradition of going to the tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree. Since then, we have gone to five different farms while living in four different states. We walked through farms in snow and some unseasonably warm years, while wearing shorts! I braved the tree farm pregnant with twins...that year there was snow and I gave up walking and stood in a spot where I could see and pointed to trees I liked. We picked a tree very quickly that year - most likely because I was starving. We trudged through what seemed like mountains of snow the first Christmas with The Bear and The Princess...with them bundled up in hats and coats and in BACKPACKS on our backs! That year was decidedly not very fun. Then there was another Christmas when I was pregnant. This time with toddlers in snowsuits and boots. That year was spent saying..."Watch that tree stump!" "Stay here." "Where did your brother go?" "Where did your sister go?" You get the idea. Then another year with a baby in a backpack and several more of "Watch your step!" and "Yes you can ride on Daddy's shoulders." Then, in what seemed like a minute, they were all big enough to navigate the farm. They all had opinions about which tree they wanted. It took years for them to realize that the 20 foot trees were not going to fit in our house.... There was hot chocolate, cookies, and candy canes. There were trees in the back of a van and trees strapped to roofs of several different cars. One year The Pooch even made an appearance. There were years of seeing Santa and one year when there was a band that let the kids try their cool handmade instruments. There was the one year when we broke with tradition....after an emergency surgery and a Disney trip planned before Christmas, we decided to put up an artificial tree that year. It never felt right. And the trees.... we always pick a beauty because no matter the size, they always look beautiful decorated - (ahh but that is the topic of another blog I think.... the evolution of the tree decorations.... ) Then in the blink of an eye, they were not wee ones anymore....instead they were teenagers and a preteen. But what warms my heart the most is that everyone was excited to go, they still have opinions about which tree is best, they still have a hard time understanding the correct height of the tree we need, they all wear their Santa hats without question, they spent the day pulling each other around in the wagon and laughing, and I don't think I had to tell anyone to watch their step the whole time! I am so happy that My Wonderful Husband and I started this tradition all those years ago. I can hardly remember the years that it was just the two of us (although there were 6 of them!) and I treasure the memories from all of the years and look forward to many more....
