O' Christmas Tree

O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree

How loyal are your leaves/needles!

You're green not only

in the summertime,

No, also in winter when it snows.

O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree

How loyal are your leaves/needles!

Growing up we always had a real tree.  We would go usually around my birthday, the 16th, and hunt down the "perfect" tree or so I thought until a few weeks ago. LOL Once we found it my Dad would cut it and we'd haul it back home, stick it in a 5 gallon bucket with rocks and get to decorating.  We've had trees with ants, trees fallen over when we wake up, and debris everywhere but all those things never stuck with me.  All I remember is it being so fun going out as a family finding that "perfect" tree and just loving the holidays that much more.  Now 15+ years later after saying it for a good 5 years..."THIS YEAR WE ARE GETTING A REAL TREE".  We finally got a real tree!  

None of the junk from Lowe's or Home Depot...a REAL tree from the wild! The weekend after Thanksgiving we scouted around for trees on our land but they were all really mangy.  Holes in the branches, full sides missing and entire sections too, too tall, or too little.  I told Hendrik we always had "PERFECT" trees growing up. LOL I don't know what the problem is??? He said to ask my Mom how "perfect" they really were, maybe my childhood memories were betraying me LOL.  Yeah, well my Mom confirmed his thinking...they weren't perfect LOL.

On the way to Mt. Pleasant I saw the perfect tree on a tree line of some property that I just happened to know the owner.  I called them up and told them the whole story of me finding the perfect tree and if I could cut it down.  They told me to go for it!  That next Sunday Hendrik and I grabbed Case for the adventure since my brother and Lara were working.  

After we cut it and loaded it up I had Case take our picture and he did so good for a 3 year old but hey it is 2018. Then he had to have his picture and we were off towards the house. 

Once home we trimmed it up and got it in the stand then in the house.  Hendrik helped me string up my vintage bubble lights I purchased for my "perfect" real tree then he took Case back to my Moms for a nap.  I was left to decorate it and once I had drug out all the Christmas decor I was feeling pretty defeated.  The tree just wasn't what I had in my head.  It struck me as ugly especially after looking so perfect in the field.  I put a few decorations on it but I wanted a special look and most of my decorations didn't fit my plan so I made do and cleaned everything up feeling let down. 

Here is the finished product of the "perfect" tree.  

It took a few days for all of it's perfect imperfections to grow on me and I did feel really down and defeated.  Which now looking back is insane I mean it is a tree but I just had such a grand picture and memories in my head and I wanted my tree now to be all that I remembered PLUS more!!!

Now that I can reflect and fully appreciate this beauty I can see that like this tree life isn't perfect and with my Type A personality maybe I need to learn to love all of the imperfect things in life a bit more.  Maybe I should laugh at those things and wave them off a bit more.  Lesson learned tree, lesson learned.

Not all things in life are perfect and they certainly aren't all that my mind conjures up just like my PERFECT tree!  Merry Christmas