Real or fake? While it’s true that there are beautifully crafted Christmas trees available, and many of them cost a small fortune, it has to be real for me. I love the smell and the feeling of bringing the forest inside for a time. I love the needles too, really. There is a magic that happens when the colorful little lights wrap the tree in that warm glow. And really, who knows better how to craft a Christmas tree than God?

Is mine perfect? Yep, it is, because it grew in a forest somewhere. It has a lot  of personality in the growth of branches and their covering of soft short deep green needles. This year, it isn’t very tall-prices were high, but it makes up for that in the fullness surrounding its gnarly trunk. I can’t wait to get the lights on, the ornaments, and some sparkly tinsel.

If I could, I get lights on our big sentinel tree that guards our home, and has for probably close to a hundred years. I may need to get one of those hover boards to get this job done-I think about it every year, but haven’t come up with a viable plan yet that doesn’t risk my neck.