Was it love at first sight?

He held it up (i think it's a 'she') and i fell in love. i asked what the name was and he said 'Fraser Fir.'

i said i wanted to look at a few more - tall and skinny was my only requirement. He showed me a few more but i kept thinking about the first one i saw. He told me that the first one was a bit lower in price because she was a little light on the backside. i said it didn't matter because that side would be facing the corner. i already had her decorated in my mind and she was stunning.

He said she was 8 1/2 feet tall. my ceilings are about 10feet so she would fit in perfectly. None of the others compared to her - even with that light backside.

i said - "i'll take the first one." and he laughed and said 90% of people who like the first one they are shown go back to that one. He was handsome - looked good in his rough clothes, eyes bright and shining from the cold and love of what he was doing. He wrapped her in white string and put her in my car, she looked lovely even there. i drove home as carefully and quickly as i could, her smell filled my car and i was so very happy.

When i got home, i set up her stand and then carried her in the house. i was surprised how light she was given her height. my cat, Moses, immediately came over to have a sniff and in 10 seconds flat he was purring and rubbing against her. i knew then that she was a hit.

i set her in the stand, and carefully cut off the white string. As it came away from her, her branches popped out and she filled the space with her glory. Her branches are soft, short needled and very pungent in her scent. Decorating her was a pleasure. i had to stand on a chair to reach her top - the angel's head is a mere 2 inches from the ceiling and once she was all decorated, pushed back a bit and watered i stood and gazed at her.

Absolutely beautiful.

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For some reason, this year i have delighted in the Christmas season as you may or may not have noticed. i decided to put up two trees: one, a fake but very old one in my sitting room - it is a short tree and the other a real one for my living room. i haven't had a real tree for Christmas for about four years and i cannot describe the absolute joy and delight i had in bringing my tree home and decorating her. Her beauty is truly esquisite, and she turns an ordinary living room into a softly lighted room of celebration. This season isn't all about the decorations and the tree and the lights -though i enjoy those things more than you know - but it's about the celebration of a baby born. The birth that would change the world forever.
There's so much more that this season resembles and reminds us - but for one night, last night, i enjoyed the beauty of a tree - in all her glory.

It was truly love at first sight.