2023 Life Logs, Day 334: O Christmas Tree
Date: Thursday, November 30, 2023
Weather: Partly Sunny, a Tad Warmer: High 56, Low 44 F; Sunset 4:15 pm (-0 min)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
O, Christmas Tree, O, Christmas Tree,
How lovely are thy branches!
O, Christmas Tree, O, Christmas Tree,
Of all the trees most lovely!
Each year you bring to us delight,
With brightly shining Christmas light!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Of all the trees most lovely.
I love the German Christmas carol, O Tannenbaum, because there is not much in life I enjoy more than my Christmas tree all lit up. I love the stories from the 16th century that report devout German Christians bringing decorated trees into their homes. I love even more the stories that report that people built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated the structure with evergreens and candles when trees were scarce. One of my favorite Christmas trees ever was in 2014 when Mark and I went to Puerto Rico for Christmas. Jo gathered driftwood from the beach and fashioned a beautiful tree.
01 Driftwood Christmas Tree
04 Thinking Ahead to Christmas Morning
When I was growing up, my dad rarely appeared to be happy except on Christmas Eve when he lit up like the Christmas tree. Watching my dad be so happy made the Christmas tree symbolize joy in my life. Each year when my tree goes up, I still feel like a four-year old helping her dad put up the Christmas tree on Christmas eve, decorating it with lights and then throwing on those long silver strands of tinsel. Pure joy! This afternoon, I went to get the tree at Coonemessett Farm and was again shocked that a Balsam fir here costs more than a Balsam fir in Puerto Rico. Here they say the high cost is due to shipping, but they certainly don’t grow Balsam firs on the island, and I would think transportation from the northern US all the way to Puerto Rico would be way more than from the northern US to any place in the northern US, even Cape Cod!
Despite the price, I had the tree loaded in my car, picked Jonah up on my way home, crammed him in the back of my car with the tree as all of the seats but the driver’s seat were down to accommodate the tree, and home we went. He got the tree up all by himself,
took Shadow for a walk, and then put the lights on the tree. He is top down lighter just like Justin and Jo. For whatever reason, I have always started at the bottom of the tree with the lights, but it looks just as good one way as the other. I will decorate it slowly over the next few days, but I can start enjoying the tree all lit up beginning tonight.
Joy!
Heather made the 12 and a half hour flight to Dubai just fine. She left Boston at 10:30 pm last night and sent a text around noon our time today saying she was in her room and ready for some sleep. It is now 6:30 am there, so she will up soon and ready for the first day of COP28. I picked Ollie up from tennis this evening and took him to Mashpee for his Christmas jazz group practice. I did a little food shopping while I was waiting for him and then brought him home. Jed and I are trying share driving duties while Heather is away, but this weekend is going to be a challenge. Jonah and Sam have multiple soccer games on Saturday and Sunday, all off Cape and not all close together. It is also the weekend of the lighting of the tree on the Green and the Christmas parade. And tomorrow afternoon I am going to the Holiday Pops on the Cape with the Cape Cod Symphony. I am being driven by friends, so they can drop me right at the door. There is no way I would be able to walk from the parking lot. Tis the season.
