Last weekend while Elaine was napping, I ran out to get a Christmas tree from McGovern’s in Novato. Many of the lots around here are supplied by the same tree farm in Oregon, which is owned by a family named Pronzini. I actually came across their website last year around this time and got a good chuckle reading the wholesale page on their website. They grow award winning trees, apparently, and I can tell you that this tree we have is gorgeous, but … wait – there is a NATIONAL CHRISTMAS TREE CONVENTION?! Really? Can you imagine the parties? I’m sure it’s a whole lotta barely-bridled chaos. Perhaps only slightly less lively than American Geophysical Union convention or some of the other nerd-herdings we see at the Moscone Center in SF. (Some of which yours truly has happily attended, for the record.)
Anyway, I was looking into the tree source to find out more about how and where they’re grown and it didn’t take long before I became enchanted with the idea of having a tree farm. Call me crazy, but I think being a Christmas tree farmer sounds like a lot of fun! And a ton of hard work as well, no doubt – probably more than this wussy could handle, if I’m really being honest with myself. But most of us spend our lives mostly surrounded by walls doing work for companies that may or may not be making an impact on the world, and more and more I can see the draw in working outside. I can imagine sitting on a tractor in the middle of nowhere looking at rows and rows of green trees disappearing over rolling hills, knowing that many of the trees I see will someday be the focal point of a family’s holiday memories. I’m sure I’m romanticizing this much more than is rational and that anybody who’s ever actually worked on a tree farm would confirm that I am, in actuality, crazy.
Back to our tree. We agreed that this time around that Elaine probably wouldn’t get all that much out of it if we were to all go together to pick one out. And Alison was baking, so I knew I would return to a really good smelling house. I was able to set the tree in its stand in the living room before baby girl came out from her snack – and when she did, boy did I get the response I hoped for. Wonder, amazement, curiosity and joy all flashed through her eyes as her mom carried her out to see it for the first time. Now, she’s moved on to calling it by her new "word" – which sounds a lot like kee and is what she uses for pretty much everything (the cats, the tree, her favorite stuffed bear, etc.). This tree makes her smile every time she sees it and I’d be happy not to get anything for Christmas except those.
As the years pass, I hope we’ll be able to keep this in mind when teaching her about wants, needs and the happiness that giving can bring. We certainly can’t afford to go overboard on gifts for her this year and I hope that I'll look back to this video in years to come to remind myself that Christmas is not about buying as many gifts as possible for our child(ren) and/or each other. All I want for Christmas is to look at those two shining eyes, her little bottom teeth in that adorable smiling mouth, saying "kee, kee." Maybe next year I'll ask for a Christmas tree farm.
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